Autonomous region since 1991

Iraqi Kurdistan, which is holding parliamentary elections today, has been autonomous since 1991 and mired in an economic crisis since its failed independence referendum a year ago.

Here is some background about the region bordering Iran and Turkey.

Mountainous north

Situated in the rugged mountainous north of Iraq, the region is home to about five million people. They are mainly Kurds, who are mostly Sunnis, and a Turkmen minority. Kurdish and Arabic are the official languages, and the capital is Arbil.

Long persecuted

The struggle for an independent Kurdish state started during Britain’s mandate in Iraq and was relaunched in 1961 by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of Mustafa Barzani. It erupted into an Iraqi-Kurd war that finished in 1970 with a peace accord that granted Kurds autonomy. But this failed to materialise and a new conflict started in 1974, the Kurds quickly collapsing.

The following year, the KDP split with the creation of the revolutionary Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

In 1987-1988, the regime of Saddam Hussain launched violent operations against the Kurds which saw nearly 180,000 killed and more than 3,000 villages destroyed. Baghdad used chemical weapons against the village of Halabja, killing 5,000 people.

Autonomy

Iraqi Kurdistan gained de facto autonomy after the 1991 Gulf War, when Western powers intervened to protect Kurds against Saddam’s forces. In 1992 the Iraqi Kurds elected their first parliament and set up a government. In 2003 Kurds joined US troops to help overthrow Saddam. Iraqi Kurdistan became formally autonomous as a federal republic in 2005, with Mustafa Barzani’s son, Masoud, as president.

US allies against Daesh

In 2014 Kurdish forces took control of the oil-rich province of Kirkuk, profiting from the chaos created by the advance of Daesh. They became an important ally of the US-led coalition against Daesh in zones bordering Kurdistan.

Failed independence referendum

On September 25, 2017 Iraqi Kurdistan voted for independence at a referendum initiated by Masoud Barzani, despite warnings from Baghdad and the international community. The referendum covered disputed border areas beyond the autonomous region, such as Kirkuk, and led Iraqi government forces to act to retake the oil-rich province. Barzani stepped down as president. Since then Iraqi Kurdistan has been run by his nephew, Nechervan Barzani.