On the night of 11-12 November 1986, the Iraqi army, supported by artillery and warplanes, attacked the areas around Zakho, where the base of the Zakho district committee of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) was located. The military operation of the army and the government's armed forces captured the Dila heights. As a result, the communication between the Zakho district committee and the Peshmerga Forces of that region with other areas was cut off. To convey this news, the Duhok district committee contacted the leadership of the revolution and stated that there was heavy fighting on the border of both the Duhok and Zakho districts. Warplanes were heavily bombing the Peshmerga positions. As a result of the airstrikes in the village of Kani Punge, an elderly man named Haji Nabi became a Martyr and 4 women and children were also wounded. Furthermore, in the village of Zewe, near the base of the first branch of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the airstrikes continued, and there too, another elderly man fell as a Martyr. [1]

It is clear that the Iraqi government's goal in attacking the bases and positions of the Peshmerga in the Behdinan region was to suppress the voice of the revolution in the face of the continuous partisan attacks against state forces in various areas, from attacks on military bases to setting up ambushes on roads. Without a doubt, this, on one hand, caused heavy losses for the Iraqi army forces, and on the other hand, it had placed the government in a dangerous situation where it was never at ease. [2] Because the branches, district committees, organizations, and Peshmerga forces were distributed across the regions in such a way that each of them was active within the scope of its authority. [3]

The attacks by the army and government armed forces on the bases and positions of the Peshmerga continued for several days on the border of both the Duhok and Zakho regions. On 13 October 1986, the Duhok district committee contacted the leadership of the revolution and stated that the heavy pressure and attacks of the government had reached the Zakho district and had seized the district committee base, and the bombing by warplanes over the region was continuing. It is worth mentioning that the defense of the Peshmerga forces and their positions in the face of the government forces, especially the mercenaries (Jash), at 4.00 o'clock on the evening of 14 October 1986, defeated their advances and attacks. [4]

The attacks by the Iraqi army and armed forces on the revolutionary districts show that the government has always tried to extend its power to all districts of Kurdistan, to silence the revolution in all regions and hinder their activities.

Source:

  1. Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Volume 4, 1975-1990 Gulan Revolution, Part 2, First Edition, Ruxana Printing House, 2021.

  2. Shimal Zebari, Some hidden facts in Gulan Revolution in, 1 edition, Rojhelat printing house, Erbil – 2015.

  3. Haji Mirxan Dolemeri, The Search for Justice, Volume 1, Second Edition, Kurdistan – 2021.

[1]- Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Volume 4, 1975-1990 Gulan Revolution, Part 2, First Edition, Ruxana Printing House, 2021, p 63.

[2]- Shimal Zebari, Some hidden facts in Gulan Revolution in, 1 edition, Rojhelat printing house, Erbil – 2015, p 345.

[3]- Haji Mirxan Dolemeri, The Search for Justice, Volume 1, Second Edition, Kurdistan – 2021, p 251.

[4]- Masoud Barzani, Same source, p 64.