Ahmed Awa is a beautiful tourist area located in the Zelm Valley of the Khurmal district in Halabja province, 84 km east of Sulaymaniyah. During the Gulan Revolution , many epics and attacks by the Peshmerga forces were carried out in that area, where they attacked the military and armed bases of the Iraqi government. As a result, they dealt fatal blows to them and whispered the message of the revolution's vitality, the protection of the Kurdish people's right to freedom, and the realization of democracy into their ears.

On July 1, 1987, the Kurdistan Peshmerga Forces prepared a comprehensive plan to attack several military positions of the Iraqi army and government armed forces, with the aim of a major guerrilla operation in Ahmed Awa and Hana Qole. After the completion of the operation preparations, the Peshmerga Forces carried out a comprehensive attack on the army, mercenaries, and the National Army (Jaysh al-Sha'abi) in that area. In a short time, they were able to capture the base of the mercenaries (Jash), a base of the Iraqi army, and the bases of the Jaysh al-Sha'abi in the region.

In the Peshmerga attack, the Iraqi government forces suffered heavy blows, with hundreds killed and wounded. Also, nearly 220 government soldiers and gunmen were taken prisoner. The achievement of the revolution in this epic was a large number of weapons and military equipment, which included nearly a thousand pieces of various weapons. It is worth mentioning that the area was in the hands of the Peshmerga for 2 days, and then they retreated and left the area. After a fatal blow was dealt to the Iraqi government forces in the epic, the Peshmerga forces were not without losses, but 7 Peshmerga were martyred, named Sardar Haji Hussein, Sheikh Kamil Firyasi, Gharib Dole Sori, Ali Mela, Kawa Derbendi, Qadir Jabar, and Hassan Marif.

It is clear that the existence of such epics by the revolutionary forces had a great positive impact on the high morale of the Peshmerga, especially in terms of self-confidence and a sense of responsibility. At the same time, it was a major defeat for the army and government gunmen, who had a large force full of advanced weapons, and who suffered heavy human and material losses in every battle.

Source:

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

  2. Ahmed Awa, https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D.

  3. Nuri Hama Ali, History of a Peshmerga's Struggle Between Life and Death, Second Edition, Shahab Press, Erbil – 2016.