Disputed territories of northern Iraq

  •   Borders of the Kurdistan Region (disputed)
  •   Kurdistan Region
  •   Unrecognised incorporated territory
  •   Other claimed and controlled territory
  •   Other claimed territory
  •   Rest of Iraq

The disputed territories of northern Iraq (Arabic: المناطق المتنازع عليها في العراق,[1][2][3] Kurdish: ناوچە جێناکۆکەکانی عێراق[4]) are regions defined by article 140 of the Constitution of Iraq as being Arabised during Baath Party rule in Iraq. Most of these regions are inhabited by non-Arabs, including Kurds, Assyrians, Yazidis, Turkmens/Turkomans, and Shabaks.

The disputed areas have been a core concern for many Arabs, Assyrians, Kurds, and Turkmens, especially since the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and the subsequent political restructuring. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) gained control of territory to the south of the Kurdistan Region after 2003, taking over land they claimed as part of Iraqi Kurdistan.[5]

During the Islamic State offensive in 2014, the KRG's Peshmerga forces took over more of the disputed territories. Kirkuk Governorate, strategically important because of its oil fields, was retaken by Iraqi government forces in the Battle of Kirkuk in 2017.

  1. ^ الحريري, أ د جاسم يونس (January 1, 2016). الدور الخليجي في العراق دراسة حالة احداث الموصل 2014 (in Arabic). دار الجنان للنشر والتوزيع. ISBN 978-9957-594-54-1.
  2. ^ أحمد, محمود رزوق (January 1, 2014). الحركة الكردية في العراق (in Arabic). Al Manhal. ISBN 9796500144917.
  3. ^ عثمان, خليل فضل; السياسات, المركز العربي للأبحاث ودراسة (January 1, 2018). كركوك: جدل الأرقام والسرديات (in Arabic). المركز العربي للأبحاث ودراسة السياسات. ISBN 978-614-445-233-2.
  4. ^ "مایک پێنس و نێچیرڤان بارزانی پەیوەندییەکی تەلەفۆنیی ئەنجامدەدەن" (in Kurdish). Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  5. ^ Bartu, Peter (2010). "Wrestling With the Integrity of A Nation: The Disputed Internal Boundaries in Iraq". International Affairs. 6. 86 (6): 1329–1343. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2346.2010.00946.x.