Disputed Areas of Northern Iraq

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  • Official borders of the Kurdistan Autonomous Region according to the 1970 Manifesto
  • Unrecognized annexed areas under Kurdish control
  • Areas claimed by the Kurdish regional government
  • Rest of Iraq

    • The disputed areas of Northern Iraq are regions in Iraq whose administrative allocation between Baghdad and the Kurdish regional government is controversial. The Ninawa and Kirkuk provinces as well as small parts of the Salah ad-Din and Diyala provinces are particularly affected . Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution provides for a referendum on this issue among the people living there. The areas are claimed by both the Kurdistan Autonomous Region and the Iraqi central government . The decision should be made by December 31, 2007 at the latest. However, this vote never came.

    history

    Since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the areas have been controlled by Kurds. In 2014 the Islamic State took control of large parts of the disputed areas. The areas have been controlled by the Iraqi army since 2017 .

    population

    Settlement areas of the various population groups in the Iraqi province of Ninawa

    The population groups in the disputed areas of Northern Iraq include Kurds , Arabs and the minorities in Iraq such as Turkmen , Assyrians , Yazidis and Shabak .

    Areas

    In the Ninawa province, the district of Sinjar , the district of Tal Afar , the district of Akrê , as well as the districts of Sheikhān , al-Hamdaniya and Tel Kaif in the Nineveh plain are affected. These areas are home to numerous minority towns and villages such as the Assyrian villages of Alqosh and Bartella and the Yazidi villages of Baschiqa and Bahzani . In the province of Kirkuk , in which there is a special deposit of petroleum and in which the majority of the Turkmens live, the districts of al- Hawijah (Hawija), Daquq, Kirkuk and ad-Dibis are affected.

    The Assyrian city of Baghdeda on the Nineveh Plain

    The Dahuk Gouvernement in the Kurdistan Autonomous Region officially consists of four districts: Dohuk , Amediye , Zaxo and Semile . The Shekhan and Akrê districts of the Ninawa governorate as well as a newly created district called Bardarash and parts of the Tel Kaif and al-Hamdaniya districts were attached to the Dahuk governorate. (See maps) These areas are on disputed territory and officially belong to the Ninawa Governorate.

    Map of the Dahuk Governorate (dark red official area, light red disputed area)
    Map of the Dahuk Governorate with the official four districts: Dohuk, Amediye, Zaxo, Semile and the three affiliated districts: Shekhan, Akrê and Bardarash
    Map of the Ninawa governorate with the districts: Shekhan, Akrê, Tel Kaif, al-Hamdaniya, al-Ba'aj, Hatra, Mosul, Sinjar and Tal Afar

    In the Erbil governorate , the Machmur district was added, although the district originally belonged to the Ninawa governorate and was administered by Mosul . Today Mosul no longer has any administration over Machmur. The district is de facto part of the Kurdistan Autonomous Region and has been separated from the Ninawa Gouvernement. This area is also on disputed territory.

    Map of the Erbil Governorate (dark red official area, light red disputed area)
    Districts of the Erbil Governorate with the controversial and newly added district of Machmur

    In the Sulaimaniyya governorate , the districts Khanaqin and Kifri were added, although the districts officially belong to the Diyala governorate .

    Map of Sulaymaniyyah Governorate (dark red official area, light red disputed area)
    Districts of the Sulaymaniyyah governorate with the disputed and newly added districts of Khanaqin and Kifri
    Map of the Diyala Governorate with the districts: Kifri, Khanaqin, al-Khalis, al-Muqdadiyya, Baquba and Baladruz

    The Kirkuk Gouvernement is not officially part of the Kurdistan Autonomous Region, but is claimed by the Kurds. From 1976 to 2006 the governorate was called at-Taʾmīm.

    Map of the Kirkuk Governorate in the Disputed Areas of Northern Iraq
    Map of the Kirkuk governorate with the districts al-Hawijah (Hawija), Daquq, Kirkuk and ad-Dibis

    In the Salah ad-Din governorate , which officially belongs to the Iraqi central government, the district of Tuz (also Tooz) is mainly affected. The district is multi-ethnic. Turkmen, Arabs, Kurds and Assyrians live in the city of Tuz Khurmatu .

    Map of the Salah ad-Din governorate
    Map of the Salah ad-Din governorate with the districts of Ad-Dawr, Al-Faris, Asch, Shirqat, Baiji, Balad, Samarra, Tikrit and Tuz

    Self-management

    The minorities in Iraq , to whom the Iraqi constitution has special rights , insist largely on administering these areas themselves and some have their own armed forces (also known as militias) such as the Turkmen Brigades (Turkmen Militia), Nineveh Plain Protection Units (Assyrian militia ) and the Hêza Parastina Êzîdxan (Yazidi militia) were founded. The minorities feel abandoned by the Iraqi and Kurdish armed forces. When IS invaded these areas in 2014, the Iraqi army and the Kurdish Peshmerga fled these areas. Some residents are still striving to join the Iraqi central government or the Kurdistan Autonomous Region. The vast majority of the minorities, however, have their own ideas about the future of the areas and sometimes even strive for their own autonomous administrations. The Turkmen call their settlement areas " Turkmeneli " (land of the Turkmens), the Yazidis call their settlement areas " Ezidikhan " (land of the Yazidis ) and the Assyrians call their settlement areas " Assyria ". The minorities have also founded their own parties that are active in the Iraqi parliament and represent their interests, such as the Turkmen Front of Iraq , the Yezidi Movement for Reform and Progress or the Assyrian Democratic Movement .

    assimilation

    According to a report by the non-governmental human rights organization Human Rights Watch , the residents of the disputed areas are partially being forced to identify themselves as Kurds and to decide to become part of the Kurdistan Autonomous Region. The United States Department of State reports that minority schools in these areas are being forced to teach the Kurdish language .

    See also

    Individual evidence

    1. ↑ Sean Kane: Iraqs disputed territories. (PDF) In: PeaceWorks. United States Institute of Peace , 2011, accessed October 13, 2018 .
    2. ^ Infographic: Control Over Iraq's Disputed Territories. Retrieved October 13, 2018 .
    3. ↑ Iraqi Kurds 'withdraw to 2014 lines' . In: BBC News . October 18, 2017 ( bbc.com [accessed October 13, 2018]).
    4. ↑ a b Christians and Yazidis in Iraq: Current Situation and Perspectives. In: Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Retrieved October 13, 2018 .
    5. ^ Brendan O'Leary: How to Get Out of Iraq with Integrity . University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011, ISBN 0-8122-0608-8 ( google.de [accessed October 21, 2018]).
    6. ↑ Benjamin Isakhan: Legacy of Iraq: From the 2003 War to the 'Islamic State' . Edinburgh University Press, 2015, ISBN 978-1-4744-0500-3 ( google.de [accessed October 21, 2018]).
    7. ^ Mohammed MA Ahmed: Iraqi Kurds and Nation-Building . Springer, 2016, ISBN 978-1-137-03408-3 ( google.de [accessed October 21, 2018]).
    8. ↑ Insight Turkey 2017 - Summer 2017 (Vol. 19, No.4): Reclaiming the Region: Russia, the West and the Middle East . SET Vakfı İktisadi İşletmesi ( google.de [accessed on October 21, 2018]).
    9. ↑ a b On Vulnerable Ground. In: Human Rights Watch . November 2009, accessed on October 13, 2018 .
    10. ^ Sergio Peçanha: How the Kurdish Quest for Independence in Iraq Backfired . ( nytimes.com [accessed October 13, 2018]).
    11. ↑ Rikar Hussein: Islamic State regrouping in Iraqi, Kurdish Disputed Territories . In: VOA . ( voanews.com [accessed October 13, 2018]).
    12. ↑ Rikar Hussein: IS Terror Group Surges in Iraq's Disputed Territories . In: VOA . ( voanews.com [accessed October 13, 2018]).
    13. ↑ Iraq's Supreme Court: Kurdish referendum was unconstitutional - derStandard.at. Retrieved October 19, 2018 .
    14. ^ Dohuk Governorate Profile. (PDF) Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
    15. ↑ a b Dohuk Governorate Profile Overview. (PDF) Retrieved January 13, 2019 .
    16. ↑ GOVERNORATE ASSESSMENT REPORT DAHUK GOVERNORATE. (PDF) In: UNHCR . September 2007, accessed January 13, 2019 .
    17. ↑ Cengiz Gunes: The Kurds in a New Middle East: The Changing Geopolitics of a Regional Conflict . Springer, 2018, ISBN 978-3-03000539-9 ( google.de [accessed January 15, 2019]).
    18. ^ Hania Mufti: Iraq: Forcible Expulsion of Ethnic Minorities . Human Rights Watch, 2003 ( google.de [accessed January 15, 2019]).
    19. ↑ Kenneth Katzman: Kurds in Post-Saddam Iraq . DIANE Publishing, 2010, ISBN 978-1-4379-3805-0 ( google.de [accessed January 15, 2019]).
    20. ^ Sebastian Maisel: The Kurds: An Encyclopedia of Life, Culture, and Society . ABC-CLIO, 2018, ISBN 978-1-4408-4257-3 ( google.de [accessed on January 16, 2019]).
    21. ↑ Welance com-a freelancer Collective: Iraq after ISIL: An Analysis of Local, hybrid, and Sub-State Security Forces. Retrieved January 18, 2019 (American English).
    22. ↑ Iraq: Fighting in Disputed Territories Kills Civilians - Iraq. Retrieved January 18, 2019 .
    23. ^ Kurdish militant group re-emerges in northern Iraq under new name. December 14, 2017, accessed January 18, 2019 .
    24. ↑ The situation of Yazidi seekers of protection. German Bundestag, accessed on October 13, 2018 .
    25. ↑ María Ximena Rondón: Hope for the Church in Iraq: Thousands of Christians return to the Nineveh plain . ( catholicnewsagency.com [accessed October 13, 2018]).
    26. ^ Robert Tannenberg: Northern Iraq: German Yazidis commander arrested . In: THE WORLD . April 7, 2015 ( welt.de [accessed October 13, 2018]).
    27. ^ Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): Yazidis: "They have let us down" | DW | 08/08/2015. Retrieved October 13, 2018 .
    28. ↑ Aachener Nachrichten: Erbil: The Christians in Iraq feel abandoned. Retrieved October 13, 2018 .
    29. ↑ Reuters Editorial: Iraqi army flees Kirkuk - Kurdish troops take over . In: DE . ( reuters.com [accessed October 13, 2018]).
    30. ^ SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg, Germany: Iraq: Army on the run from Isis from Mosul to Arbil - SPIEGEL ONLINE. Retrieved October 13, 2018 .
    31. ↑ Elke Dangeleit: Northern Iraq: Christians and Eziden under pressure. Retrieved on October 13, 2018 (German).
    32. ↑ Iraq . In: US Department of State . ( state.gov [accessed October 13, 2018]).