The Liberation of Zakho During the 1991 Kurdish Uprising

PUKMEDIA

Zakho’s uprising.

On 13 March 1991, the people of Zakho rose up against the Ba’athist regime, joining other Kurdish provinces, cities and towns in revolt against the now-defunct Ba’athist rule.

The spark of the uprising was first ignited on 5 March 1991 in the city of Ranya, which later became known as the “Gateway to the Uprising”. The city and its surrounding areas were liberated, and in the days that followed the uprising spread to other regions.

At the outset of the Zakho uprising, plans and mechanisms were put in place to divide the Peshmerga forces in order to attack the headquarters of the Ba’athist regime. The first meeting to coordinate these efforts was held in the Darkar sub-district.

As in the liberation of other cities and towns across the Kurdistan Region, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) played a leading role in the uprising in Zakho. During the first meeting, a message from President Mam Jalal reached the rebellious masses in the Darkar district. In his message to the region’s notable figures and tribal leaders, the late leader called upon the people to rise up and liberate Zakho from injustice and oppression.

The Zakho uprising began in the Darkar district on 13 March 1991, and by that same evening the entire district had been liberated and the city cleared of the remnants of the defunct Ba’athist regime.


PUKMEDIA