The Ba'ath regime, in order to remain in power and remove obstacles and the threats it faced, tried every method; whatever plan was effective and worked to its advantage, it would use. It is clear that the areas under the influence of the revolution were locations of Peshmerga bases and Headquarters, and were always a major threat to the interests of the Ba'ath regime. Therefore, they would suddenly come under threat and pressure from its military forces and be subjected to ground and air attacks with the intention of clearing them and destroying the villages and hamlets of Kurdistan (Barzani, 2021, 289).
The regime's army in August 1984 launched a wide-scale attack on the areas under the control of the revolution in Zakho in the Badinan region. In that attack, the Ba'ath government targeted the Headquarters of the Duhok and Zakho district committees in order to stop the activities of the Peshmerga and silence the voice of the revolution in the region. The attack consisted of thousands of soldiers and mercenaries (Jash) led by Arshad Zebari and Jaafar Mustafa, supported by tanks, artillery, armored vehicles, rocket launchers, and combat helicopters.
On the morning of 24/8/1984, the attack began from three main axes:
First: The Babokhke and Galnazke axis
Second: The Ziwka Abo, Navshke, and Osmana axis
Third: The Life axis against the Headquarters of the Zakho district committee in Gali Harina (Murad, 2007, 144).
The Peshmerga forces were distributed across the axes according to the attack of the government forces, because at that time the Peshmerga forces were organized within the framework of Party organization such as branches and districts (Gardi, 2021, 269). The Peshmerga forces of the Martyr Shehyaz Salih organization and the Comrade Sadiq Galnazke organization took up positions on the Babokhke and Galnazke axis. The Ziwka Abo, Navshke, and Osmana axis was entrusted to the Peshmerga forces of the Renjbaran organization, Khalid Kocher, Martyr Muhammad Hamdi, and a group of popular defense forces. Fatah Guli, the official of the Duhok district committee, supervised the Peshmerga forces in that confrontation. Another joint force of KDP Peshmerga and a group of the Communist Party was formed under the command of Muhammad Murad as a reserve force for the axis from which the government advanced, in order to support the Peshmerga force to which that axis was entrusted. That force was stationed above the village of Ziwka Abo between the two battle axes (Hamdi, 2007, 145).
Early in the morning, the attack of the Ba'ath government forces on the Peshmerga positions began from all axes. The Peshmerga forces confronted them at the location designated for them, and a fierce battle took place between them. At first, they broke their attack and dealt them a heavy blow, but on the Navshke axis, three Peshmerga were martyred, so the government force advanced towards the village of Osmana. The Peshmerga forces strengthened their defense positions, and the reserve force also reached the village of Osmana to support them and blocked the attacking force. The people of the village also cooperated with the Peshmerga in every way. They repelled the government's attack very fiercely with the light and heavy weapons that were available. In all the places from which they had advanced, they defeated them and pushed them back to behind the village of Ziwka Abo (Hamdi, 2007, 145).
This time, the government's attack was not only conducted from the ground, but it also did not spare the shelling and bombing of warplanes from the air. During the battle, eight planes were constantly circling in the sky of the region to support the government's ground forces and were bombarding the Peshmerga positions. As a result, a number of Peshmerga were martyred (Hamdi, 2007, 145). To settle the outcome of the battles, the Iraqi Army constantly attacked the Peshmerga Headquarters and bases with planes, and in every battle with the Peshmerga, it resorted to shelling the positions (Zebari, 2015, 318).
This attack by the Ba'ath regime lasted for eight days, during which military and armed forces, supported by tanks, artillery, and planes, constantly confronted the Peshmerga forces. The Peshmerga, with the weapons they had and the support of the popular defense force, blocked the path of that massive and well-armed force and repelled all its attacks. Although the Iraqi forces exhausted the Peshmerga a lot during those eight days, the Peshmerga did not hesitate in defending. On the eighth day, the Peshmerga forces launched a counter-attack on the government forces from all axes. They suddenly attacked the vanguard of the government forces, and in a short time, they broke their ranks and imposed a significant victory over them. The government forces were defeated and retreated. As a result, the battle ended with the victory of the Peshmerga forces and the defeat of the Iraqi Army and the mercenaries.
In that attack, the government forces suffered heavy losses in dead and wounded, among them was the killing of Colonel Abdullah, the brother of Latif Zebari, the advisor of the mercenaries (Jash), who met his end near the village of Galnazke. Dozens of bodies of the dead were left on the battlefield, and a large number were taken prisoner. A large quantity of weapons and ammunition fell into the hands of the Peshmerga forces and became a gain for the revolution. The recording of the victory of this battle was achieved with the blood of eight Martyrs of the path of Kurdistan, five of whom were martyred by aerial bombardment (Hamdi, 2007, 146).
These attacks by the government on the areas under the control of the revolution were continuous throughout the history of the Kurdish liberation struggle, but when it failed and did not have the ability to take control of those areas due to the strong defense of the Peshmerga, it became a great achievement for the revolution and an increase in the morale of the Peshmerga. At the same time, it had a great resonance in the region, and that also fell into the framework of a great moral defeat for the government.
Sources:1- Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Volume Four, 1975- 1990 Gulan Revolution, Part Two, First Edition, (Roxana Printing House - 2021).
2- Gardi, Ghazi Adil, A Peshmerga in the Service of the Barzani Path, Haji Birokhi, Volume Two, Second Edition, (Turkey - 2021).
3- Murad, Muhammad, The Struggle of the Mountains, Memories and Events of the Gulan Revolution between the years (176-1989), (Kurdistan Printing House – Zakho - 2007).
4- Zebari, Shimal, Some Hidden Truths in the Gulan Revolution, First Edition, (Rojhalat Printing House, Erbil – 2015).