This dyad belongs to the conflict Iraq: Kurdistan
Summary of conflict Iraq: Kurdistan
The Kurdish people reside mainly in Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria. They number more than 20 million, but they have never obtained statehood. Starting in 1961, KDP (Partiya Demokrata Kurdistan; Kurdish Democratic Party of Iraq), and later PUK (Yekitiya Nistimaniya Kurdistan; Patriotic Union of Kurdistan), fought for more autonomy for the Kurdish areas within Iraq. Crises in the surrounding region and inter-group fighting significantly influenced the dynamics of the armed conflict that continued on and off until 1996. Following the interstate conflict Iraq versus USA, UK, and Australia 2003, which ended with the ouster of the Saddam Hussein administration in Iraq, Iraqi Kurdistan was recognised as an autonomous region. Both KDP and PUK became involved in Iraqi politics and participated successfully in elections.
However, as of 2014, there is no clear constitutional definition of Kurdistan’s autonomy. Divisions remained over the status of Mosul, oil-rich Kirkuk, and the status of the Kurdish security forces. In 2014 Kurdish forces managed to take control over these areas and in June the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced unspecific plans to hold an official independence referendum. The referendum was eventually held, despite widespread criticism, on 25 September 2017. The election was held both within the Kurdish provinces (Arbil, Sulaimaniyah and Dohuk) and in disputed areas such as Kirkuk province. Despite a strong victory for the independence-side, the Kurdish leader Massud Barzani stated that there would be no immediate declaration of independence. Instead, he called for negotiations with the Iraqi government. The Iraqi government, however, rejected negotiations and stated that the vote was unconstitutional.
The relations between KRG and the Iraqi government deteriorated following the referendum and on 13 October, the Iraqi army launched an operation aimed at retaking the disputed areas. Kirkuk and other areas were soon under government control and on 1 November, Barzani stepped down as president of KRG.
More than 25 people (the UCDP threshold for inclusion) were killed in the clashes between the Iraqi army (supported by the Popular Mobilization Forces) and the Peshmerga forces. The violence could, however, not be included in UCDP data due to a lack of a stated goal of incompatibility in the dyad Government of Iraq - KRG.
Background
The Kurds have been a nation for a long time but they have never governed Kurdistan, the territory on which they are in majority spread across Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. The modern Kurdish struggle in Iraq began in 1961, spearheaded by KDP (Partiya Demokrata Kurdistan ; Kurdish Democratic Party of Iraq), and later by PUK (Yekitiya Nistimaniya Kurdistan, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan). On the initiative of the charismatic leader Mullah Mustafa Barzani, KDP had separated from KDPI (Hizbi Demokirati Kurdistani Eran; Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran) in 1946. KDPI was at the time fighting the Iranian regime to gain autonomy for Iranian Kurdistan. It was the firm belief of the founders of KDP that autonomy also had to be demanded for Iraqi Kurdistan. At KDPs first congress on 16 August 1946 the partys main goal was stated: freedom for the Kurdish people to express its will, within the boundaries of an Iraqi union.
1961-1970: Developments up to the March 1970 peace agreement
The outbreak of the armed conflict over Kurdistan was precipitated by riots and inter-tribal fighting triggered by land reforms. KDP originally did not seek direct conflict with the Iraqi government. However, air raids against Kurdish villages, fighting between the government and tribal leaders allied to KDP, and the outlawing of KDP inside Iraq, eventually drew KDP into the armed conflict in December 1961.
Fighting mostly took the form of raids and ambushes by the Kurdish rebels and subsequent government air raids on villages as reprisals. KDP was backed by Iran that had border difference with Iraq. KDP also obtained support from Israel.
The government side was weakened by internal power struggles. However, also KDP was shaken by internal divisions between Mullah Mustafa Barazani and two other KDP leaders Ibrahim Ahmad and Jalal Talabani. The latter would later form the rival PUK (Yekitiya Nistimaniya Kurdistan, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan). Armed and financed by the government the Ahmad-Talabani faction commenced hostilities against Barzani’s followers in 1966.
The conflict took a new turn when the Baath party came to power in Iraq in a coup in 1968, tacitly supported by the Ahmad-Talabani faction of KDP. Preoccupied with internal power struggles and tensions with neighbouring Iran, the Baath government entered into negotiations with KDP. An agreement was reached that temporarily brought an end to the fighting. The Manifesto of 11 March 1970 granted the Kurds linguist rights, participation in the government and administration of their own area.
1970-1975: The failure of the March 1970 peace agreement
The peace agreement of 11 March 1970 failed to bring about lasting peace. Certain clauses of the agreement were indeed implemented, but crucial provisions concerning the return of Kurdish villagers and participation of Kurds in legislation and state planning were not. KDP accused the Iraqi government of expulsions of ethnic Kurds from disputed areas such as Kirkuk and of assassination attempts on KDP-leader Mullah Mustafa Barzani and his sons. The nationalisation of oil production in the disputed area of Kirkuk, accounting for 70 percent of the country’s oil output, further heightened tension.
In 1973 the tensions boiled over. Skirmishes occurred that developed into a full-scale war after the publication of an Autonomy Law in March 1974 that fell short of Kurdish central demands concerning Kirkuk and real self-control. In its armed struggle, KDP relied heavily on support from neighbouring Iran that supplied the rebels with arms and also intervened directly on Iraq territory. The rebels also received weapons from Syria. In the summer of 1974, the Iraqi government launched the biggest offensive since the start of the conflict in 1961. Owing to support from Iran and Syria, KDP was able to halt the government offensive.
However, an agreement reached between Iran and Iraq in March 1975 brought about a sudden end to the fighting. Iran and Iraq resolved their border differences and Iran agreed to withdraw its forces and suspend its support to the rebels. It was clear that the Kurdish rebellion was doomed to fail without Iran’s help and the rebels decided to lay down their weapons. About 70 percent of KDP’s fighters, the “peshmergas”, gave themselves up to the Iraqi government under an amnesty plan and KDP-leader Mullah Mustafa Barzani went into exile. The Iraqi army created security zones along the border with Syria, Turkey and Iran reportedly destroyed over one thousand villages to this end.
1975-1979: PUK and KDP fight the government and one another
KDP ceased fighting following the conclusion of an agreement between Iraq and KDP’s main backer, Iran, in 1975. However, many among the KDP fighters disagreed with KDP-leader Mullah Mustafa Barzani’s leadership and wanted to continue the struggle against the Iraqi government. These elements within KDP formed a new organisation, PUK (Yekitiya Nistimaniya Kurdistan; Patriotic Union of Kurdistan), under the leadership of Jalal Talabani, a former opponent of Barzani, in June 1975. PUK would act as the left-wing alternative to KDP and reportedly had the backing of the Syrian government. The newly-established group proclaimed that it strived for autonomy for the Kurds and democracy for Iraq. However, simultaneously also KDP was revived under the leadership of the sons of former KDP-leader Barzani. The new organisation was called KDP-QM (Al-hizb al dimuqraati al-kurid - Qiyada Muvaqqata; Kurdish Democratic Party of Iraq–Provisional Command).
The Kurds continued to accuse the Iraqi leadership of atrocities against Kurdish guerrillas and civilians including torture and executions. The Iraqi government reportedly relocated 300 000 Kurds to southern Iraq and planned to move more and replace them with Arabs. The Kurdish population also generally rejected as inadequate the governments efforts to implement its policies on Kurdish autonomy. Against this background, fighting against the Iraqi government flared up once more in mid-1976.
After sporadic battles the conflict became particularly intense following an Iraqi offensive in March 1977. Fierce clashes broke out again in the first half of 1978. The Iranian Revolution and the fall of the Iranian government in early 1979 contributed to renewed activity in the Kurdish areas of northern Iraq. Due to the withdrawal of Iranian forces from the border areas, the Iraqi Kurds were able to seek refuge, supplies and arms in Iran. This was very important as an Iraqi-Turkish agreement had cut the supply lines to the rebels from the Turkish Kurds.
However, again, the Kurdish rebels were weakened by internal power struggles. KDP-QM and PUK at times co-operated 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. The inter-Kurd feud dominated the years 1978-1979.
1980-1988: The Kurdish conflict during the Iran-Iraq War
The war between Iraq and Iran, which broke out in 1980, complicated the Kurdish fight for autonomy. Being located in the border region between the two warring states, the Kurdish population was very much affected by the fighting. KDP sided with Iran and fought along with Iranian forces against Iraq. The group had reverted back to its old name, KDP, in 1979.
In contrast, PUK was in a more complicated position, as it was allied with the Iranian Kurdish rebel group KDPI (Hizbi Demokirati Kurdistani Eran; Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran) that opposed the Iranian government. Thus, when the tide had turned in favour of Iran in 1983, Iran launched its counter attack not only against the Iraqi government forces, but also against PUK. Accordingly, PUK faced a danger of being crushed between the fronts of the two warring parties.
For this reason, PUK adopted a more conciliatory approach towards the Iraqi government. In December 1983, PUK and Baghdad announced a ceasefire and engaged in negotiations over Kurdish autonomy. However, after a few months of talks the negotiations broke down and PUK resumed fighting in January 1985. PUK instead successfully approached Iran and its rival KDP. In 1986, PUK began to receive weapons and financial assistance from Iran and the two rival groups KDP and PUK, in 1987, managed to form a Kurdish Front under a joint command. The Kurdish rebels gained control over a large territory with Iran’s help and launched heavy attacks against Iraqi military centres.
The cooperation between KDP and PUK constituted a growing menace to the Iraqi government. As the Kurdish rebels made gains on the battlefield, the Iraqi government stepped up attacks against the Kurdish population. The development culminated in the “al-Anfal” (the spoils) offensive of 1988. Using chemical weapons, the Iraqi government launched indiscriminate air attacks on Kurdish towns. The campaigns resulted in the wholesale destruction of some 2 000 villages and the death of at least 50 000 rural Kurds.
Simultaneously, it became evident that the Kurdish ally, Iran, could no longer sustain warfare with Iraq. In August 1988, Iran and Iraq concluded a ceasefire. Both KDP and PUK were determined to continue fighting the Iraqi government. However, the Kurdish armed struggle had suffered a severe set back and the rebels had no control over any territory. From their hideouts in the mountains, the two rebel groups launched hit and run attacks, carried out with weapons from Syria.
1990-1996: The conflict after and during the Gulf War
After the end of the Iran-Iraq war in 1988, the Kurdish rebels in Iraq continued their armed struggle, albeit on a smaller scale. A new regional crisis in 1990 – the Gulf War, pitting Iraq and Kuwait against one another – again influenced the dynamics of the conflict over Kurdistan significantly. Following the defeat of Iraq by Kuwait and its coalition allies in 1991, the number of Iraqi forces and weapons were seriously decimated and Iraqi fixed-wing aircrafts were initially denied access to Kurdistan above the 36th parallel. As the Kurdish parties launched an offensive in the wake of the interstate conflict, Iraq’s counterattack killed scores of civilians and rebels. The United Nation and Coalition responses to the Iraqi operations were a resolute condemnation of violence and the creation of a so-called safe haven to protect Kurdish civilians.
On 20 April 1991 PUK-leader Talabani met with the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to negotiate autonomy for Iraqi Kurdistan in accordance with a twenty-year old (11 March 1970) Kurdish-Iraqi agreement, which had never been fully implemented. The second round of negotiations began on 8 May 1991 and continued, on and off, until 20 August. Massoud Barzani, the leader of KDP, headed the Kurdish delegation on that occasion. The result of the negotiations was a draft agreement that was never signed by the parties because of internal differences between the Kurds regarding the extent of the autonomy, the democratisation 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, wherefore no agreement was signed.
After the 1992 elections in Iraqi Kurdistan, which at the time enjoyed a degree of autonomy, power was divided between Barzanis KDP and Talabanis PUK. The two parties did not manage to co-operate, which subsequently led to a political power struggle that increasingly involved other groups, and which again became militarised in May 1994.
The Iraqi government again became involved in the internecine fighting between the two Kurdish organisations. KDP and the Iraqi regime reportedly engaged in secret negotiations in 1994 as KDP began to use weapons against PUK suspected of being provided by Iraq. KDP, however, has stated that their policy is to never engage in covert negotiations and the oppositions evidence is not clear. The KDP-PUK rivalry led to a de facto partition of Kurdistan and in 1995, KDP overtly sided with the government against PUK. In 1996, US forces acted as a secondary warring party on behalf of PUK, when they attacked Iraqi positions following joint Iraqi and KDP attacks on PUK. KDP and Iraqi troops were able to establish control over Erbil, a major city in Kurdistan. The same year, the Iraqi government withdrew its troops from Kurdistan and the conflict was terminated. In 1998, PUK and KDP concluded a peace agreement.
Following the interstate conflict between Iraq and USA, UK, and Australia 2003 which ended with the ouster of the Saddam Hussein administration in Iraq, Kurdistan was recognised as an autonomous region.
