The movements and activities of the Peshmerga were on the rise. The Peshmerga Forces were constantly present in villages and often even inside cities and towns. The goal of these movements was often to carry out Peshmerga activities, and many other times it was to see and strengthen the organization within the cities. On both sides, they caused trouble and confusion for the Ba'athist government by carrying out Peshmerga activities that caused human and material losses to the army and government forces.       

In January 1982, the Peshmerga Forces of Kurdistan, under the command of Nadir Hawrami, launched a widespread attack on the bases and strongholds of the Iraqi Army in the Biara and Sharam area. Due to the vastness of the area, the attack lasted for several days. As a result, the Peshmerga Forces were able to take control of the area and inflict heavy losses on the government forces, resulting in many dead and wounded. Also, (45) soldiers fell into the hands of the Peshmerga as prisoners, along with several other gains in that battle, which consisted of many pieces of weapons, equipment, and military supplies. The Peshmerga's losses in carrying out this activity consisted of four martyrs named Suleiman Shamirani, Majnun Hawrami, Hassan Shirameri, and Omar Brakhas, and a number of other Peshmerga were also wounded.

It is clear that at that time, the war between Iran and Iraq was ongoing, which began on September 22, 1981, and lasted for eight years, so it is known as the eight-year war. A large part of the border between these two states passes through Kurdistan, so the border areas became a battlefield for the attacks of both states. Biara and Tawela were also among the areas that were affected by the sparks of the war, and the Peshmerga Forces also participated in the battle. For that very reason, a large area of the region fell into the hands of the Peshmerga. In a situation where the Iranian forces withdrew from the area by the decision of Tehran, which was surprising for the Peshmerga and the leadership of the revolution, after they took control, they suddenly decided to withdraw. As indicated, it seemed that Iran did not want to be the cause of provoking the feelings of the Arabs.

It was at that very moment that the Ba'athist government destroyed the Shirwan Mazn sub-district and moved the residents to the areas around Erbil. It is clear that this step by the government carries two different dimensions: one of them as a reaction to the participation of the Peshmerga in those attacks and raids that were carried out on the border areas, and the other was the fear of the Iraqi government that the residents of the area would cooperate with the Peshmerga in taking control of it, as was the case with the Biara area.

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. Haji Mirxan Dolemeri: Searching for the Immortal, Volume Two, Second Edition, Kurdistan – 2021, p. 244.  

  3. Nuri Hama Ali: The History of the Struggle of a Peshmerga Between Life and Death, Shahab Printing House, Second Edition, Erbil – 2016.