General information
Type of Incompatibility: Territory
Comment on Type of Incompatibility: Like the KDPI in Iran KDP and PUK in Iraq demanded autonomy for the Kurdish territory. This was different from PKK in Turkey, which demanded an independent Turkish state.
Territory: Kurdistan
Date of first stated goal of incompatibility: 1946-08-16
Date of first use of armed force: 1961-12-01
Comment on first use of armed force: There was a Kurdish Revolt against the Iraqi regime (run by Qasim) from 1961 to 1963, which KDP originally did not participate in. An ally of KDPs front figure, Barzani, did however engage in fighting with government forces during 11 September 1961, thus bringing Barzani into the conflict. When the government attempted to close down the KDP on 24 December the members of the group was further engaged in the conflict resulting in anti-government operations in December 1961.
Date of first battle related death: 1945-08-01
Date of conflict reached 25 battle releated deaths: 1961-12-31
Comment on conflict reached 25 battle releated deaths: The KDP joined the armed rebellion against the regime in December 1961 and since >25 people were killed during that year, December is chosen as the date of the onset of the conflict.
Annual information
This section contains annual information systematically collected by the UCDP.
1975
Primary Parties: Government of Iraq - KDP
Dimension: Internal
Comment on Dimension: Iran deployed regular troops to Iraq in support of KDP. It also supplied the rebels with weapons.
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 1000 |
| Best | 1000 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1976
Primary Parties: Government of Iraq - PUK
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 25 |
| Best | 25 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1977
Primary Parties: Government of Iraq - KDP-QM, PUK
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 50 |
| Best | 50 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1978
Primary Parties: Government of Iraq - KDP-QM, PUK
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 50 |
| Best | 50 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1979
Primary Parties: Government of Iraq - KDP
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 25 |
| Best | 25 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1980
Primary Parties: Government of Iraq - KDP, PUK
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 50 |
| Best | 50 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1981
Primary Parties: Government of Iraq - KDP, PUK
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 50 |
| Best | 50 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1982
Primary Parties: Government of Iraq - KDP, PUK
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 50 |
| Best | 50 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1983
Primary Parties: Government of Iraq - KDP, PUK
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 50 |
| Best | 50 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1984
Primary Parties: Government of Iraq - KDP
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 25 |
| Best | 25 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1985
Primary Parties: Government of Iraq - PUK
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 25 |
| Best | 25 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1986
Primary Parties: Government of Iraq - KDP, PUK
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 50 |
| Best | 50 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1987
Primary Parties: Government of Iraq - KDP, PUK
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 50 |
| Best | 50 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1988
Primary Parties: Government of Iraq - KDP, PUK
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 2000 |
| Best | 2000 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1989
Primary Parties: Government of Iraq - KDP, PUK
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 50 |
| Best | 50 |
| Low | 50 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1990
Primary Parties: Government of Iraq - KDP, PUK
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 94 |
| Best | 94 |
| Low | 94 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1991
Primary Parties: Government of Iraq - KDP, PUK
Dimension: Internal
Comment on Dimension: The UN and the Coalition are coded as third parties instead of secondary warring party in 1991 since no specific organisation or goal of incompatibility was supported. As a consequence of the large number of casualties and refuges following the Iraqi operations in Kurdistan the UN security council adopted resolution 688 (5 April 1991) which condemned Iraqi repression and demanded that Iraq cease its acts and do not interfere in humanitarian assistance. It furthermore called upon the Secretary-General to pursue his humanitarian efforts and to examine the need for further missions. The third party involvement was thus initially humanitarian but the EU (then EC) and the US decided to detach troops to the area to create safe havens and to enforce the no fly zone in order to protect the Kurdish civilians. The UN did not immediately send UN troops to the area and it was not until mid-May that the UN negotiated with Baghdad over sending UN soldiers to the area. In June-July UN troops got involved in protecting aid convoys. The coalition ground force, that consisted of 2500 soldiers, was withdrawn in October 1991 leaving the implementation of the UN and EC resolutions to the coalition air forces.
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 2603 |
| Best | 1247 |
| Low | 1247 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1992
Primary Parties: Government of Iraq - PUK
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 53 |
| Best | 27 |
| Low | 27 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1993
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1994
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1995
Primary Parties: Government of Iraq - PUK
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 304 |
| Best | 264 |
| Low | 264 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1996
Primary Parties: Government of Iraq - PUK
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 366 |
| Best | 356 |
| Low | 356 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1999
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2005
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2008
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2014
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2017
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2019
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2020
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2021
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2022
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2023
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2024
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2025
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
Conflict Archive
This section contains annual information no longer systematically collected by the UCDP.
1975 Conflict Archive
Comment on Activity: The armed conflict that had been renewed in 1973 and reached the level of war in 1974 was brought to a sudden end in March 1975. Iran, which was the KDP’s major backer, reached an agreement with Iraq. Iran subsequently withdrew its forces and suspended its supply to the rebels. It was clear that the Kurdish rebellion was doomed to failure without Iran’s help and the rebels decided to lay down their weapons. About 70 percent of the KDP’s fighters, the “peshmergas”, gave themselves up to the Iraqi government under an amnesty plan and KDP-leader Mulla Mustafa Barzani went into exile. The Iraqi army created security zones along the border with Syria, Turkey and Iran and destroyed reportedly over thousand villages to this end.
With the agreement between Iran and Iraq, fighting between KDP had been terminated. Many among the KDP fighters disagreed however with the KDP-leader Mulla Mustafa Barzani’s leadership and wanted to continue the struggle against Iraq. Those elements among KDP formed a new organisation, PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan), under the leadership of Jalal Talabani, a former left-wing opponent of Mullah Barzani within the KDP in June 1975. PUK would act as the left-wing alternative to KDP and reportedly had the backing of the Syrian Government. In the statement that proclaimed the creation of PUK the goal was stated: autonomy for the Kurds and democracy for Iraq. During 1976, the PUK launched its first operations against the Iraqi regime.
Comment on Yearly Battle Related Deaths: The Iraqi Chief of Staff, Lieut. General Abdul Jabbar Shanshal announced on May 4 that his forces had lost 1640 men killed and 7903 wounded in 1975. It was estimated that similar losses had been sustained on the Kurdish side.
Negotiations: NO
Comment on Negotiation: The Iraqi President Bakr rejected in March 1975 an offer by KDP to negotiate a settlement, stating that "the only possible thing for you to do to avoid further bloodshed is to accept the terms of the general amnesty, which expires on April 1".
Iran was KDP’s main backer during the conflict. In negotiations taking place in early 1975 it reached an agreement with Iraq on border issues and subsequently suspended its support to the rebels.
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Comment on Victory: Iran, which was the KDP’s major backer, reached an agreement with Iraq. Iran subsequently withdrew its forces and suspended its supply to the rebels. It was clear that the Kurdish rebellion was doomed to failure without Iran’s help and the rebels decided to lay down their weapons. About 70 percent of the KDP’s fighters, the “peshmergas”, gave themselves up to the Iraqi government under an amnesty plan and KDP-leader Mulla Mustafa Barzani went into exile. Only a few KDP members stayed in the mountains to continue fighting and 30 000 joined the civilian refugees that flew to Iran.
Terminated: NO
1976 Conflict Archive
Comment on Activity: Following the conclusion on 6 March 1975, of the Algiers agreement between Iraq and KDP’s main backer Iran, the KDP-rebellion in Iraqi Kurdistan had collapsed.
Many among KDP fighters disagreed however with KDP-leader Mulla Mustafa Barzani’s leadership and wanted to continue the struggle against Iraq. Those elements among KDP formed a new organisation, PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan), under the leadership of Jalal Talabani, a former left-wing opponent of Mullah Barzani within KDP in June 1975. PUK would act as the left-wing alternative to KDP and reportedly had the backing of the Syrian Government. In the statement that proclaimed the creation of PUK the goal was stated: autonomy for the Kurds and democracy for Iraq. However, also KDP was revived under the leadership of the sons of former KDP-leader Mullah Mustafa Barzani . It was called KDP-QM (Al-hizb al dimuqraati al-kurid - Qiyada Muvaqqata; Kurdish Democratic Party of Iraq–Provisional Command) and adopted a leftist programme.
Fighting against the Iraqi government flared up in mid-1976. Both KDP and PUK objected the Iraq Governments policy since its peace agreement with Iran of deporting 300 000 Kurds to southern Iraq and its plans to remove more and replace them by Arabs. The Kurdish population generally rejected as inadequate the Governments efforts to implement its policies on Kurdish autonomy. Moreover, the Kurds continued to accuse the Iraqi leadership of atrocities against Kurdish guerrillas and civilians including tortures and executions.
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1977 Conflict Archive
Comment on Activity: The conflict became particularly intense following an Iraqi offensive on 17 March 1977.
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1978 Conflict Archive
Comment on Activity: Fierce clashes broke out again in the first half of 1978. KDP-QM and PUK at times co-operated against the Iraqi government but occasionally also fought each other. KDP-QM aligned itself with the Iranian government while PUK had good relations with the Iranian Kurds fighting the Iranian government. This inter-Kurd feud dominated the years 1978-1979.
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1979 Conflict Archive
Comment on Activity: The fall of the Shah of Iran in early 1979 contributed also to renewed activity in the Kurdish areas of northern Iraq. The disintegration of the Iranian Army and the withdrawal of forces from the Kurdish areas of western Iran, bordering Iraq enabled the Iraqi Kurds to seek refuge, supplies and arms in this area.
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1980 Conflict Archive
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1981 Conflict Archive
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1982 Conflict Archive
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1983 Conflict Archive
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1984 Conflict Archive
Comment on Activity: The majority of reported clashes between the Army and Kurdish guerrillas during 1984 involved members of KDP, while PUK was engaged in talks with the Iraqi government throughout the year.
Negotiations: YES
Comment on Negotiation: Secret negotiations were held by the Iraqi government with all Kurdish organizations. In beginning of January 1984 it was reported that an agreement had been reached between the Iraqi government and PUK. The agreement stipulated (i) a ceasefire between government and PUK forces, (ii) the extension of the Kurdish autonomous region southwards to include areas around Kirkuk and Khanuqah, as well as other provisions for increased Kurdish autonomy, and (iii) the formation of a 40,000-strong Kurdish army.
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1985 Conflict Archive
Comment on Activity: The PUK claimed a number of military successes in the Kirkuk area in the north-east in May 1985 while KDP assisted Iran in in capturing large areas of territory in the Berkim and Barazgir valley.
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1986 Conflict Archive
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1987 Conflict Archive
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1988 Conflict Archive
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1989 Conflict Archive
Comment on Yearly Battle Related Deaths: The figure includes military deaths only.
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1990 Conflict Archive
Negotiations: NO
Comment on Negotiation: In the preparation for what was later to become the Gulf War Saddam began making friends with former enemies. Iraq and Iran talked about concluding a formal peace agreement and Saddam also offered the KDP and PUK (the Kurdish Front) a peace deal. A deal the groups did not want to strike during the Gulf Crisis. It is unclear whether the parties actually met to negotiate and the situation can thus not be labelled negotiation.
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1991 Conflict Archive
Comment on Activity: After the 28 February coalition forces victory over Iraqi armed forces, the dynamic of the Kurdistan conflict changed. Uprisings against Saddams regime began in Kurdistan, initiated by the Kurdish people. On 29 January the opposition organizations declared amnesty for Kurds who were members of the Iraqi regimes Kurdish "jash" militias, with the result that only a few jash leaders remained loyal to Iraq. The uprising lead to an increase in the total number of opposition troops by tens of thousands of fighters. The revolt did however not last long before the Iraqi forces crushed most of the resistance, the same year, and killed thousands of civilians in urban areas and on escape routs.
Negotiations: YES
Comment on Negotiation: On 20 April 1991 Talabani of the PUK met with Saddam Hussein to negotiate autonomy for Iraqi Kurdistan in accordance with a 11 March 1970 Kurdish-Iraqi agreement, which was never fully implemented. The first round of talks lasted until 24 April with the result that the parties did, in principle but not on paper, agree on autonomy for the Kurds.
The second round of negotiations began on 8 May 1991 and continued, on and off, until 20 August. This time the Kurdish delegation was headed by Massoud Barzani, the leader of the KDP. The result of the negotiations was a draft agreement that was never signed by the parties because of internal differences between the Kurds over some issues such as the extent of the autonomy, the democratization of Iraq and the future of Kirkuk. To clarify these issues a third round of negotiations continued throughout September 1991, the result of which was inconclusive leaving no agreement signed. There was instead new clashes.
Third party involvement: YES
Third party involvement names: UN, EC (EU)
Comment on Third Party Involvement: As a consequence of the large number of casualties and refuges following the Iraqi operations in Kurdistan the UN security council adopted resolution 688 (5 April 1991) which condemned Iraqi repression and demanded that Iraq cease its acts and do not interfere in humanitarian assistance. It furthermore called upon the Secretary-General to pursue his humanitarian efforts and to examine the need for further missions. The third party involvement was thus initially humanitarian but the EU (then EC) and the US decided to detach troops to the area to create safe havens and to enforce the no fly zone in order to protect the Kurdish civilians. The UN did not immediately send UN troops to the area and it was not until mid-May that the UN negotiated with Baghdad over sending UN soldiers to the area. In June-July UN troops got involved in protecting aid convoys. The coalition ground force, that consisted of 2500 soldiers, was withdrawn in October 1991 leaving the implementation of the UN and EC resolutions to the coalition air forces.
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1992 Conflict Archive
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: YES
Type of termination: No or Low Activity
Date of termination: 1992-12-31
Comment on Termination: The lowering in intensity of the conflict between the Kurdish groups and the government coincided with an upsurge in violence between the KDP and the PUK. This rivalry, which led to a de facto partition of Kurdistan, drew the KDP to side with Iraq against the PUK during 1996 and to never again be active in the fight against the regime.
Comment on Termination Date: After the 1992 elections in Iraqi Kurdistan, the power was divided between the Barzanis KDP and Talabanis PUK. The two parties did not manage to cooperate successfully leading to a political power struggle that increasingly involved other groups. The struggle became militarised in May 1994 after a legal dispute between a KDP member and non-tribal farmers supported by the PUK.
1993 Conflict Archive
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1994 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
1995 Conflict Archive
Comment on Activity: This case is currently under investigation. During 1995, the situation in Iraqi Kurdistan was very complicated. Apart from the fighting between the government and PUK, there were also intense non-state conflict clashes between PUK and KDP, as well as fighting in the conflict Turkey (Kurdistan) which spilled over the border.
Comment on Yearly Battle Related Deaths: This case is currently under investigation. During 1995, the situation in Iraqi Kurdistan was very complicated. Apart from the fighting between the government and PUK, there were also intense non-state conflict clashes between PUK and KDP, as well as fighting in the conflict Turkey (Kurdistan) which spilled over the border.
Negotiations: NO
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
1996 Conflict Archive
Negotiations: NO
Comment on Negotiation: The only dyad where negotiations were suspected in 1996 was the, for that year, inactive dyad between the government and the KDP. During 1996 the KDP initiated cooperation with the Iraqi regime against the PUK. This cooperation was likely preceded by bargaining over the parties goals of incompatibility but information on the possible negotiations are scarce and whether negotiations over the incompatibility actually occurred is therefore unclear.
Third party involvement: NO
Victory: NO
Terminated: YES
Type of termination: No or Low Activity
Date of termination: 1996-11-01
Comment on Termination: After the end of the 1996 clashes between the PUK and the government the conflict has not been active again. It is unclear whether the termination of armed force should be coded low or no activity as media has focused on the inter-group incompatibility after 1996.
Comment on Termination Date: After having been utterly defeated by a combination of Iraqi and KDPI forces in August the PUK made a remarkable comeback during October when it regained some of its lost territory. The date of the termination of the use of armed force is thus set at November.
1999 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2005 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2008 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2014 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2017 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2019 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2020 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2021 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2022 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2023 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2024 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2025 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
