March 1991 – 1992

The 1991 uprising and the birth of the Kurdistan Region

After the Gulf War, Iraqi Kurds rise up, flee en masse when Saddam strikes back, and then, under a Western-protected safe haven, build their own government.

A Modern History of the Kurds — David McDowall, I.B. Tauris (2004)
The Kurdish Quasi-State: Development and Dependency in Post-Gulf War Iraq — Denise Natali, Syracuse University Press (2010)
Historical Dictionary of the Kurds — Michael M. Gunter, Scarecrow Press (2011)

Well established uprisingself-rulestatehood

After Iraq’s defeat in the Gulf War, Kurds rose up in early March 1991, an event they call the Raperîn, starting in the town of Ranya. Within days they held almost all of Iraqi Kurdistan, including Kirkuk.

A Modern History of the Kurds — David McDowall, I.B. Tauris (2004)
Historical Dictionary of the Kurds — Michael M. Gunter, Scarecrow Press (2011)

But the US-led coalition did not intervene, and Saddam’s army, freed from the war, struck back. Fearing another Halabja, around one and a half to two million Kurds fled towards the Turkish and Iranian borders in freezing weather, and thousands died.

A Modern History of the Kurds — David McDowall, I.B. Tauris (2004)
The Kurdish Quasi-State: Development and Dependency in Post-Gulf War Iraq — Denise Natali, Syracuse University Press (2010)

The images forced a response. UN Security Council Resolution 688, adopted on 5 April 1991, condemned the repression, and the US, Britain and France set up a “safe haven” and a no-fly zone north of the 36th parallel.

Security Council Resolution 688 (1991) — United Nations Security Council (1991)
A Modern History of the Kurds — David McDowall, I.B. Tauris (2004)

In October Baghdad withdrew its administration and imposed an internal blockade. The Kurds held elections in May 1992 and formed a parliament and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

The Kurdish Quasi-State: Development and Dependency in Post-Gulf War Iraq — Denise Natali, Syracuse University Press (2010)
A Modern History of the Kurds — David McDowall, I.B. Tauris (2004)

Self-rule began badly. Power was split between the KDP and PUK, and from 1994 to 1998 they fought a bitter civil war, each at times calling in Baghdad or Tehran. US mediation produced the Washington Agreement in 1998, but the region was effectively run as two zones, Erbil–Dohuk under the KDP and Sulaymaniyah under the PUK, for years afterwards.

The Kurdish Quasi-State: Development and Dependency in Post-Gulf War Iraq — Denise Natali, Syracuse University Press (2010)
Historical Dictionary of the Kurds — Michael M. Gunter, Scarecrow Press (2011)

Why it matters today

Kurds

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq, with its own parliament, government and peshmerga, grew directly out of 1991. For many Kurds everywhere it is the closest thing to a Kurdish state, a source of pride as well as frustration with its party rivalries and corruption.