Kanyelinca is a village belonging to the Barzan region, located east of Sherwan Mezin, 2 km away from the main Mergasor-Sherwan Mezin road, bordering the villages of Helaniye and Beroxe of North Kurdistan; administratively, it is attached to the Goretu sub-district of the Mergasor district([1]), this village, like all Kurdistan villages, was destroyed by the Ba'ath government in the year 1979 and its residents were settled in the forced communities of Diana, Harir, Behrke, and Qushtepa; in terms of revolution and resistance, the villagers actively participated in the successive revolutions of Kurdistan and produced famous revolutionaries such as Ehmed Miste, Salih Eli Mihemed, who is also known as Sako Kanyelinci, and many others([2]).

After the start of the Gulan Revolution and the holding of the Ninth Congress of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) on November 10, 1979, in East Kurdistan ([3]), one of the decisions of the 9th Congress of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) was to send Peshmerga forces to Kurdistan to begin organizing and carrying out Peshmerga activities in various districts. The Barzan region was one of those areas that belonged to the right wing of the second branch of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), because the borders of the second branch had been divided into two main wings, right and left; the task of the right wing was in the Barzan region and its surroundings, under the supervision of Dr. Said Barzani with the help of a committee consisting of Haci Mirxan Dolemeri, Mela Omer, Milazim Nihad, and Tariq Mewlud. This Peshmerga force, at the beginning of their arrival in the region, established a center in a cave in the Bradost Mountains and stored some food and supplies. Initially, they began gathering information on military bases, checkpoints, and control barriers in the region, which had been organized in a zigzag manner and mined to protect the main roads ([4]).

One of the series of activities of the Barzan Force Peshmerga was the attack on the Rebaya and the government's military bases in Kanyelinca. After drawing up the map and the plan for the attack on the military bases in the area, this plan was implemented on November 21, 1983. After the Peshmerga attacked their bases and headquarters at the appointed time, they were able to capture them in a short time and inflict heavy losses upon them. In addition to the losses suffered by the government forces, they also feared that the Peshmerga were present in that area and that attacks on the Ba'ath's bases, centers, and military headquarters were continuing, and the activity resonated in the region. However, in that battle, losses were inflicted on the Peshmerga forces, and in that fight, 3 Peshmerga named Salih Omer, Enwer Xerdini, and Zuber Haris Mamiski were martyred ([5]).

Source:

  1. Hashim Sherwani, Barzan Region, Geography, History and Culture, Edition 1, Ministry of Culture Press, Erbil, 2008.

  2. Haci Mirxan Dolemeri, The Search for Justice, Volume 2, Second Edition, Kurdistan – 2021.

  3. Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Volume 4, 1975-1990 Gulan Revolution, Part 2, Edition 1, Ruksana Press, 2021.

  4. Kurdistan Democratic Party Encyclopedia Board, History of the Kurdistan Democratic Party – Congress and Conference (Program and Internal Regulations) Volume 1, first edition, Rojhelat press, 2021.

[1]- Hashim Sherwani, Barzan Region, Geography, History and Culture, Edition 1, Ministry of Culture Press, Erbil, 2008, p. 26.

[2]- Hashim Sherwani, Same Source, p. 246.

[3]- Kurdistan Democratic Party Encyclopedia Board, History of the Kurdistan Democratic Party – Congress and Conference (Program and Internal Regulations) Volume 1, first edition, Rojhelat press, 2021, p. 369.

[4]- Haci Mirxan Dolemeri, The Search for Justice, Volume 2, Second Edition, Kurdistan – 2021, p. 252.

[5]- Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Volume 4, 1975-1990 Gulan Revolution, Part 2, Edition 1, Ruksana Press, 2021, p. 61.