From 23 June 1983 to 1 January 1984, the Kurdistan Peshmerga Forces carried out more than 200 various activities in different areas of Kurdistan against the military bases and institutions of the Ba'ath regime. As a result, they caused great damage to those forces. One of those activities was that in June 1983, the Duhok Branch Committee of the Kurdistan Democratic Party informed the Martyr Sagvan Organization that they should carry out an activity together, along with an organization affiliated with the Shekhan Branch Committee, which Mirzo Ezidi was supervising. At that time, they were touring the villages of the Shekhan region to carry out Peshmerga activities. The Peshmerga force of the Martyr Sagvan Organization, under the command of Hikmet Muhammad Guli, set off to the Shekhan region to implement the order from above, in order to meet with Mirzo Ezidi's force and draw up a plan to attack the military bases of the Ba'ath regime.

The Kurdistan Peshmerga Forces during that period were organized within the framework of party organization, such as branch committees and organizations. The two forces met near the (Samti) cave. After sitting down and discussing the plan and program for carrying out the activity, the head of the Shekhan committee force indicated that they intended to attack a number of Rabayas, starting with the Rabaya behind the village of Masike. After gathering information and establishing a secret relationship with a soldier in the Rabaya so that they could make their activity successful, the soldier instructed them that they needed to reach the inside of the Rabaya at 11:30 at night and he would help them because it was his guard shift at that time. First, a group of Peshmerga were prepared and sent as the vanguard of the force to reach the target location, which was inside the fence of the Rabaya, at the specified time.

 Just as it had been mapped and planned, the place that the soldier had designated for them in the Rabaya allowed the Peshmerga to sneak into the Rabaya. It had two guards, one of whom was secretly helping the Peshmerga, but the other was unaware of this secret plan. The soldiers of the Rabaya were sleeping in two rooms. The Peshmerga of each organization were assigned to a room to suddenly attack and surprise them. For the work to be carried out successfully, two of the Peshmerga attacked the second guard, but during the attack, the guard began to scream and shout, waking up all the soldiers of the Rabaya. In that struggle, it turned into a hand-to-hand fight. The Peshmerga and the soldiers grabbed each other in the Rabaya. A hot and complex battle took place for a while, and they attacked each other with light weapons and grenades. As a result, the battle ended in favor of the Peshmerga, and they took control of the Rabaya. Since the soldiers who were taken prisoner were captured, the others seized the opportunity to leave the Rabaya and flee. After the Peshmerga achieved victory, they caused great damage to the Rabaya and seized the weapons of the Rabaya's soldiers. Then, when their work was finished, they decided to leave the place.

  In that activity, the Peshmerga's gains consisted of seizing 11 Kalashnikov rifles and one 60 mm mortar, and taking two soldiers prisoner. The loss of the Peshmerga forces was the martyrdom of one Peshmerga. After the government became aware of this Peshmerga attack, it sent a large force from Duhok towards the location of the Rabaya and confronted the Peshmerga forces. A major battle took place between them, but the Peshmerga forces were able to resist and escape, and take the body of the martyred Peshmerga with them to reach the liberated areas under the authority of the revolution and bury him. 

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. Muhammad Murad, Khabata Chia, Memories and Events of the Gulan Revolution between the years (176-1989), Kurdistan Printing House – Zakho, 2007.

  3. Ghazi Adil Gardi, A Peshmerga in the Service of the Barzani Path, Haji Birokhi, Volume Two, Second Edition, Turkey - 2021.