The Republic of Mahabad 22 January 1946
This Kurdish state did not last long. The Persian army attacked after the Soviet-Union withdrawed its support. The President of the Republic, Qazi Muhammed, decided not to flee. He decided to stay so that the civilians, the Kurds, would not face retaliation by the Persian army. He was, together with several other leaders, including his brothers, were executed on 30 March 1947.
Qazi Muhammed is the bravest Kurd who ever lived. Knowing full well that he would be
executed, he surrendered himself in order to prevent the slaughter of many thousands of Kurds
Qazi Muhammed is my hero and is also the hero of the owner of this forum
A few Kurdish military leaders left the Republic to fight another day. One of them was General Mustafa Barzani. General Mustafa Barzani was born in a patriotic Kurdish family in South-Kurdistan (Iraqi Kurdistan). His brother started the struggle for a free Kurdistan in 1930, during the Amed Barzani Rebellion. They continued their struggle in 1943, during the Second Barzani Revolt.
Mustafa Barzani managed to escape to the Soviet-Union in 1947. He rebuild his amy, and they returned to South (Iraqi) Kurdistan in the 1950's. They started the First Kurdish-Iraqi War in 1960, which lasted until 1970. They were supported by Israel and Iran, and managed to inflect heavy casualties on the Iraqi Arab Army. The Iraqi Army had ammunition left for 2 more weeks of battle until ultimate annihilation by the Kurds.
At this point, the Arabs decided to offer autonomy to the Kurds. This autonomy lasted until 1974. The new Iraqi Ba'ath Regime, under leadership of Saddam Hussain, rebuild the Iraqi Army and invaded Kurdistan. This time, the Kurds were without support. Iraq offered Iran the important Shat Al-Arab sea-route if they stopped their support to the Kurds (Iraq broke this promise in 1979-80, which lead to the Iran-Iraq War). Iraq also received military support from Syria (Algiers Agreement).
The Second Kurdish-Iraqi War lasted until 1975, the Iraqi Arab Army occupied South-Kurdistan again. The General moved to the United States seeking treatment for his lung cancer, he passed away on 1 March 1979, in the Georgetown Hospital in Washington D.C. He is still seen as one of the most important Kurdish leaders in history.
But the Kurdish revolutionary movement was never defeated. The day Barzani left, Jalal Talabani took over the leadership of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (P.U.K.) and started a new rebellion against the Arab occupiers (Saddam used to joke about 'Mam (Uncle) Jalal', Talabani is currently the President of Iraq). This rebellion lasted until the Uprising (Raperin) of 1991. The Iraqi Army was defeated and retreated from South-Kurdistan. A No-Fly Zone was established to protect the Kurds from another Genocide (182,000 innocent Kurds were killed by the Arabs during the Al-Anfal Campaign in the late 1980's).
The Kurds gained full autonomy of Iraqi Kurdistan in 2005. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) was established and is officially recognized by the international community. The KRG is, officially, still a part of Iraq, but functions as any other independent country in reality. The Kurds are self-ruling, prosperous and independent. The Arabs (Baghdad) does not have any influence over this region, and residents outside the KRG, need a special Visa and permission to enter the Kurdish Region.
Link to Article and Photos:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=9bd_1375841079
