| Saddamiyat al-Mitla' District قضاء صدامية المطلاع (Arabic) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| De facto district of Iraq | |||||||||
| 1990–1991 | |||||||||
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| • Type | Military occupation | ||||||||
| Historical era | Gulf War | ||||||||
• Republic of Kuwait annexed by Iraq | 28 August 1990 | ||||||||
• Liberation of Kuwait | 26 February 1991 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Saddamiyat al-Mitla' (Arabic: قضاء صدامية المطلاع, lit. 'Saddamist Al-Mutlaa District') was a district in Basra Governorate during the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait 1990–1991. The formation of the district was announced on August 28, 1990.[1][2] The name sought to honour the Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.[2] Whilst the rest of Kuwait was annexed as the 19th governorate of Iraq, the strategic northern part of Kuwait was annexed as the Saddamiyat al-Mitla' district as part of the Basrah Governorate.[1]
The district covered some 7,000 square kilometres (2700 sq. mi.).[3] It included Warbah Island, Bubiyan Island, the area around Abdali, Raudhatain oil field, Sabriya oil field, Ratqa oil field and the southern part of the Rumaila oil field.[4] Apart from its oil resources, the district held most of the underground water sources of Kuwait.[4] Iraqi media declared that a new city, also named Saddamiyat al-Mitla', would be built in the district.[5]
At the time there was speculation on whether the placing of the Saddamiyat al-Mitla' district in the Basrah Governorate rather than the Kuwait Governorate indicated that Iraq might have been ready to retreat from the rest of Kuwait but keep the northern areas.[6]
- ^ a b Schofield, Richard N. (1991). Kuwait and Iraq: Historical Claims and Territorial Disputes : a Report Compiled for the Middle East Programme of the Royal Institute of International Affairs. The Institute. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-905031-35-4.
- ^ a b Sciolino, Elaine (30 May 1991). The outlaw state: Saddam Hussein's quest for power and the Gulf crisis. Wiley. p. 224. ISBN 978-0-471-54299-5.
- ^ Abidi, Aqil Hyder Hasan; Singh, Kunwar Rajendra (1991). The Gulf crisis. Jawaharlal Nehru University. School of International Studies: Lancers Books. p. 215. ISBN 978-81-7095-023-3.
- ^ a b Allcock, John B. (1992). Border and territorial disputes. Longman Current Affairs. p. 390. ISBN 978-0-582-20931-2.
- ^ News Review on West Asia. Vol. 21. The Institute. 1990. p. 383.
- ^ Frankel, Glenn (31 August 1990). "Imperialist Legacy Lines in the Sand". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 9 September 2017.