The battle on the Zaxo-Betîfa road was one of the battles and clashes that took place between the Kurdistan Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi army on February 26, 1988, when the Peshmerga of the Zaxo district committee of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) attacked the military forces of the Iraqi regime that had been stationed on the Zaxo-Betîfa road with the aim of protecting the area, after a fierce battle, the Peshmerga Forces prevailed over the Iraqi forces and inflicted heavy human and material losses on them, and a number of gunmen and soldiers were killed, wounded, and taken prisoner.

The eighties of the last century were a sensitive period for the Kurds in terms of armed struggle and guerrilla warfare. In most districts of southern Kurdistan, the Peshmerga forces had penetrated deep into the power of the Ba'ath regime. Sometimes the operations were so effective that they shook the veins of the regime's military forces. Of course, in the meantime, the regime's forces suffered a major blow, and dozens of soldiers and gunmen of the Ba'ath regime were killed, wounded, and taken prisoner. It is clear that this was the reaction of the Kurdish revolution to the stance of the Ba'ath authorities towards the citizens and their view on the Kurdish cause, which acted with anger and hostility and dealt with them, even attacking civilians brutally, which caused hundreds of thousands of people to suffer.

One of the operations that the Peshmerga forces recorded during this period against the Iraqi regime's forces is the battle on the Zaxo-Betîfa road on February 26, 1988, when a Peshmerga force from the Zaxo District Committee of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) prepared a plan to strike the Iraqi forces. It is clear that after the conditions of the place and time of the operation were discussed, they reached the target location at the appointed time and attacked the forces that were stationed there. The Peshmerga forces were able to hit the target in a short time and inflicted heavy damage on the regime's forces. In the battle, dozens of Iraqi soldiers were killed and wounded, and 34 gunmen and soldiers were also taken prisoner and fell into the hands of the Peshmerga forces.

It is worth mentioning that operations of this kind had a great impact on the courage of the Peshmerga who were struggling for freedom and democracy. It was also a great relief for the supporters of the revolution and the secret organizations of the cities. In contrast, it caused anxiety and fear within the ranks of the Iraqi army, at a time when they were fighting the Peshmerga with all their military power and advanced weapons such as tanks, artillery, and aircraft, but they still could not defeat the revolution.

Source:

  1. Şîmal Zêbarî: Some hidden facts in Gulan Revolution first edition, Rojhelat printing house, Erbil – 2015.

  2. Masoud Barzani: Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Volume 4, 1975-1990 Gulan Revolution, Part 2, First Edition, Ruksana Printing House, 2021.

  3.  Seîd Bin Nasir El-Ghamdî: The Ba'ath Party: Its History and Doctrine, El-Wetan Publishing House, first edition, 1411 H.