In February 1963, the Baathists overthrew Abd al-Karim Qasim and his government in a military coup and took power in Iraq. The leadership of the Kurdish revolution expressed its support for the new government and expressed its hope for a peaceful and just resolution of the Kurdish issue, although the Baathists did not initially have the strength to fight the Kurdish revolution, so they announced a ceasefire and negotiations began between them.
It is clear that the negotiations did not last long because the government was able to mobilize and reorganize its forces within three to four months, then threatened to suppress the Kurdish revolution and refused to negotiate with the leaders of the revolution. In June 1963, the government resumed its attacks on the revolution's areas and in all areas under the control of the Peshmerga forces. From the first day of the fighting, the Iraqi Army moved from Mosul to Zakho and other areas of Badinan, and from Kirkuk to the Koye plain, Chamchamal, Sulaymaniyah, Ranya, and Qaladiza. On another axis, from Sulaymaniyah to Qaradagh and Garmian, as well as from Baghdad to Khanaqin, and began moving from Kifri, Kalar, Darbandikhan, and Sharazur.
The Iraqi government's plan this time was to create battlefields on several fronts to separate the Peshmerga forces from the areas under the revolution's control. In the attack, it burned all the villages, mountains, plains, and valleys of Kurdistan, especially since the attack was in the summer, which is the harvest season, to seize the Peshmerga's positions, starve the Kurdish people, and cut off the Peshmerga's sources of funding.
This time, the Iraqi government's attack on Kurdistan was different from other attacks, due to the agreement it concluded with the Syrian government to help suppress the Kurdish revolution, as the Baath regime had taken power in Syria at that time in the name of the (Yarmouk) forces under the command of Colonel Fahd al-Shaer, where he crossed the Iraqi border and supported the Iraqi Army in attacking the Peshmerga forces.
On November 1, 1963, the Iraqi Army, with the Third and Fifth Brigades led by Colonel Saeed Hammo, supported by a tank battalion, a Syrian military force, and hired mercenaries (Jash), launched a wide attack on the Chami Rezan area. The attack included the Shwan and Sheikh Bizini area up to the Aghjalar sub-district, and government forces besieged several places such as Tasluja, the village of Askar, Qalat Khalifan, and near Dukan up to Chami Rezan.
The Rizgari forces belonging to the Peshmerga, which were responsible for defending the area, resisted the government attack and inflicted heavy losses on it, but the government forces continued their insistence on their attacks, and after a week they were able to take control of Chami Rezan.
The Peshmerga withdrew its forces to the Surdash, Bera Magrun, and Jafayati valley areas due to the lack of weapons, especially anti-tank weapons. Despite this, the Peshmerga forces continued their fedayeen operations to strike the enemy's outposts, set ambushes on public roads, and strike government forces.
After seizing Chami Rezan, the government wanted to separate the areas of Qaradagh, Garmian, Kifri, Kalar, and Darbandikhan and besiege them to destroy the Peshmerga forces completely, so it carried out an invasion starting from Bazian, Sulaymaniyah, and Kirkuk. The Peshmerga forces in that area were divided into three parts; a part of them headed to the difficult areas of Sartka, Bamo, and Darband Bilula, where they engaged the government forces for more than two months and eased the burden of fighting on other areas. The second part carried out two major operations in Zambur and northeast of the city of Kirkuk by striking oil wells.
The third part began attacking and pursuing the government forces that headed to attack and seize the town of Qaradagh. In this battle, a large number of soldiers and officers of the Iraqi Army, the Syrian Yarmouk Army, and the hired Arab legions participated, who came to fight the Kurds in white dishdashas and agals, where a number of them were killed and wounded.
This led to the weakening of the government forces to the point that they were no longer able to attack, and they also faced problems with the Syrian Yarmouk forces. To escape this crisis, they were forced to resort to negotiations at the end of 1963. In early 1964, they contacted the Political Bureau of the Kurdistan Democratic Party through a Kurdish officer named Karim Qarni. In January 1964, the leader of the revolution, Barzani, met with the Governor of Sulaymaniyah, Brigadier General Abd al-Razzaq Sayyid Mahmoud, in Ranya, and after several meetings, a ceasefire was announced.
Sources:1- Khoshawi Ali Kanyelnji, Bireweryekani Aziz Qazi Surchi, (Danishfar Press - Erbil - 2023).
2- Masoud Barzani, Barzani u Bzutinewey Rizgarixwazi Kurd, Volume Three, Part One, Aylul Revolution 1961-1975, (First Edition - 2004).
3- Ibrahim Jalal, Bashuri Kurdistan u Aylul Revolution Binyadnan u Heltekandin 1961-1975, Fourth Edition, (2021).
4- Shawkat Mullah Ismail Hassan, Rozhani le Mezhuyi Shorishi Aylul, (Ministry of Education Press - Erbil - 2007).
5- Hozhin Masoud Sarni, Shoresh-a Ilune le Dev-era Behdinan 1961-1975, First Edition, (2018).
6- Ari Karim, Chend Lapereyek-i Zinduu le Aylul Revolution da, (Khabat Press - Duhok - 1999).