| 1991 Iraqi uprisings | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the aftermath of the Gulf War | |||||||||
 An Iraqi government tank disabled by rebels | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Shia and leftist elements of opposition:
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Support:  MEK |
Support: United States[1] Iran[2] Syria | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Saddam Hussein(Commander-in-Chief) Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri Hussein Kamel Ali Hassan al-Majid Taha Yasin Tariq Aziz Qusay Hussein |
 Mohammad Baqir(Commander-in-Chief) Abdul Aziz al-Hakim Hadi al-Amiri  Fawzi Mutlaq al-Rawi Massoud Barzani Jalal Talabani | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
c. 300,000[3] |
c. 59,000–107,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| c. 5,000 killed or captured[4] | c. 25,000–180,000 killed (mostly civilians)[5][6][7] | ||||||||
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|---|---|---|
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Political offices
Rise to power Presidency Desposition Elections and referendums  .svg) |
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The 1991 Iraqi uprisings were ethnic and religious uprisings against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq that were led by Shia Arabs and Kurds. The uprisings lasted from March to April 1991 after a ceasefire following the end of the Gulf War. The mostly uncoordinated insurgency was fueled by the perception that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had become vulnerable to regime change. This perception of weakness was largely the result of the outcome of the Iran–Iraq War and the Gulf War, both of which occurred within a single decade and devastated the population and economy of Iraq.[8]
Within the first two weeks, most of Iraq's cities and provinces fell to rebel forces. Participants in the uprising were of diverse ethnic, religious and political affiliations, including military mutineers, Shia Arab Islamists, Kurdish nationalists, Kurdish Islamists, and far-left groups. Following initial victories, the revolution was held back from continued success by internal divisions as well as a lack of anticipated American and/or Iranian support. Saddam's Sunni Arab-dominated Ba'ath Party regime managed to maintain control over the capital of Baghdad and soon largely suppressed the rebels in a brutal campaign conducted by loyalist forces spearheaded by the Iraqi Republican Guard.
During the brief, roughly one-month period of unrest, tens of thousands of people died and nearly two million people were displaced. After the conflict, the Iraqi government intensified a prior systematic forced relocation of Marsh Arabs and the draining of the Mesopotamian Marshes in the Tigris–Euphrates river system. The Gulf War Coalition established Iraqi no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq, and the Kurdish opposition established the Kurdish Autonomous Republic in Iraqi Kurdistan.
- ^ Colgan, Jeff D. (January 31, 2013). Petro-Aggression: When Oil Causes War. Cambridge University Press. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-107-31129-9.
- ^ Terrill, W. Andrew (2004). The United States and Iraq's Shi'ite Clergy: Partners Or Adversaries?. Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-58487-153-8.
- ^ a b c d Uppsala conflict data expansion: Non-State Actor Data: Version 3.3 Archived February 21, 2014, at the Wayback Machine pp. 146; 217; 218; 502
- ^ ENDLESS TORMENT: The 1991 Uprising in Iraq And Its Aftermath. Human Rights Watch. 1992. ISBN 1-56432-069-3. Archived from the original on October 10, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
- ^ "2 Mass Graves in Iraq Unearthed". LA Times. June 5, 2006. Archived from the original on January 9, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
- ^ "'Chemical Ali' on trial for brutal crushing of Shia uprising". The Guardian. August 22, 2007. Archived from the original on December 28, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
- ^ "ENDLESS TORMENT, The 1991 Uprising in Iraq And Its Aftermath". Hrw.org. Archived from the original on June 15, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
- ^ Cline, Lawrence E. (August 8, 2000). "View of The Prospects of the Shia Insurgency Movement in Iraq | Journal of Conflict Studies". Journal of Conflict Studies. Retrieved September 10, 2021.