Iraqi Kurdistan
The mountainous nature of Iraqi Kurdistan, the difference of temperatures in its various parts, and its numerous bodies of water make it a land of agriculture and tourism.
[citation needed] Among other cities in the climate table below, Soran, Shaqlawa and Halabja also experience lows which average below 0 °C (32 °F) in winter.
In Early and Middle Bronze Age the region was geographically known as Subartu and was inhabited by the Hurrian speaking Subarians along with Gutians and Lullubi.
[24] The main cities of the region attested in the inscriptions in this period are Mardaman, Azuhinum,[25] Ninet [26] (Nineveh), Arrapha, Urbilum, and Kurda.
[39][40][41][42][43] Tukulti-Ninurta I in the 13th century BCE finally conquered the whole region and appointed one of his commanders as the governor of the villages and towns of Kurda.
Following the disintegration of the Ak Koyunlu, all of its territories including what is modern-day Iraqi Kurdistan passed to the Iranian Safavids in the earliest 16th century.
[citation needed] Between the 16th and 17th century the area nowadays known as Iraqi Kurdistan, (formerly ruled by three principalities of Baban, Badinan, and Soran) was continuously passed back and forth between archrivals the Safavids and the Ottomans, until the Ottomans managed to decisively seize power in the region starting from the mid 17th century through the Ottoman–Safavid War (1623–39) and the resulting Treaty of Zuhab.
[citation needed] In 1922, Britain restored Shaikh Mahmud Barzanji to power, hoping that he would organize the Kurds to act as a buffer against the Turks, who had territorial claims over Mosul and Kirkuk.
[citation needed] In 1930, following the announcement of the admission of Iraq to the League of Nations, Shaikh Mahmud started a third uprising which was suppressed with British air and ground forces.
[69][70] After the military coup by Arab nationalists on the 14 July 1958,[71] Mustafa Barzani was invited by Abdul Karim Qasim to return from exile, where he was greeted with a hero's welcome.
[citation needed] It was not until September 10, when an Iraqi army column was ambushed by a group of Kurds, that the Kurdish revolt truly began.
In November 1963, after considerable infighting amongst the civilian and military wings of the Ba'athists, they were ousted by Abdul Salam Arif in a coup.
Then, after another failed offensive, Arif declared a ceasefire in February 1964 which provoked a split among Kurdish urban radicals on one hand and Peshmerga (Freedom fighters) forces led by Barzani on the other.
[75] In the following years, Baghdad government overcame its internal divisions and concluded a treaty of friendship with the Soviet Union in April 1972 and ended its isolation within the Arab world.
[citation needed] In 1973, the US made a secret agreement with the Shah of Iran to begin covertly funding Kurdish rebels against Baghdad through the Central Intelligence Agency and in collaboration with the Mossad, both of which would be active in the country through the launch of the Iraqi invasion and into the present.
With mediation by Algerian President Houari Boumediene, Iran and Iraq reached a comprehensive settlement in March 1975 known as the Algiers Pact.
[citation needed] As a result, the Iraqi government extended its control over the northern region after 15 years and in order to secure its influence, started an Arabization program by moving Arabs to the vicinity of oil fields in northern Iraq, particularly those around Kirkuk, and other regions, which were populated by Turkmen, Kurds and Christians.
[78] The repressive measures carried out by the government against the Kurds after the Algiers agreement led to renewed clashes between the Iraqi Army and Kurdish guerrillas in 1977.
Iraq was widely condemned by the international community, but was never seriously punished for oppressive measures, including the use of chemical weapons against the Kurds,[83] which resulted in thousands of deaths.
The second and more extensive and widespread wave began from March 29, 1987, until April 23, 1989, when the Iraqi army under the command of Saddam Hussein & Ali Hassan al-Majid carried out a genocidal campaign against the Kurds, characterized by the following human rights violations: The widespread use of chemical weapons, the wholesale destruction of some 2,000 villages, and slaughter of around 50,000 rural Kurds, by the most conservative estimates.
[84] Even though autonomy had been agreed in 1970, the local population did not enjoy any democratic freedom, facing similar conditions to the rest of Iraq.
The United Nations Security Council Resolution 688 gave birth to a safe haven following international concern for the safety of Kurdish refugees.
The U.S. and the Coalition established a No Fly Zone over a large part of northern Iraq (see Operation Provide Comfort),[85] however, it left out Sulaymaniyah, Kirkuk and other important Kurdish populated regions.
[86] Elections held in June 1992 produced an inconclusive outcome, with the assembly divided almost equally between the two main parties and their allies.
The severe economic hardships caused by the embargoes fueled tensions between the two dominant political parties, the KDP and the PUK, over control of trade routes and resources.
Kurdish military forces, known as Peshmerga, played an important role in the overthrow of the Iraqi government;[92] however, Kurds have been reluctant to send troops into Baghdad since then, preferring not to be dragged into the sectarian struggle that dominates much of Iraq.
[102] In November, Ed Royce, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the United States House of Representatives, introduced legislation to arm the Kurds directly, rather than continue working through the local governments.
[108] This triggered a military operation in which the Iraqi government retook control of Kirkuk and surrounding areas,[109] and forced the KRG to annul the referendum.
[111] Following Kurdistan Region’s failed attempt to achieve independence after its referendum in 2017, the government of Iraq has exacted severe punishment against KRI in a number of punitive measures; ultimately striving to remove its autonomy.
[113] In September 2023, the prime minister of KRG, Masrour Barzani sent a letter to the president of the United States, imploring him to intervene, and warning of a potential collapse of Kurdistan Region and the “federal model” in Iraq.
