The Diyari Civil War
(2 August 1960 - 17 February 1966)
The
Diyari Civil War (Diyari:
Şerê Navxweyî yê Diyayî) was an internal conflict within Diyar fought from August 2, 1960, to February 17, 1966, between the former Diyari Republic and the radical left-wing People’s Liberation Front (Diyari:
Eniya Rizgariya Gel, ERG). The war came to an end in 1966 with the final surrender of Republican forces to the ERG at the end of the Battle of Al-Qarib.
The 1950s in Diyar were a decade marked by a rapid economic downturn, political corruption, distrust in government institutions, and the growing radicalization of politics. Various militant radical groups were founded, the most prominent of which was the communist ERG. The 1960 Diyari Coup, launched by General Serçil Bahoz on September 28, exposed an ideological rift between right-wing and left-wing factions of the military. When crowds assembled in Astahran on September 29 to protest Bahoz’s coup, government troops opened fire. Armed members of the ERG returned fire but were quickly crushed or apprehended. Members and leaders of various left-wing political parties such as the Communist Party (PK) fled the capital on September 30 and arrived in the city of Basrah on August 1. The next day, in a televised address to the nation, leaders of the Diyari political left and the ERG stated their intention to fight against and overthrow Bahoz.
Several army divisions rebelled against the government and aligned themselves with the ERG and by 1962, both sides had fought each other to a standstill. The Republicans controlled the coastal regions while the ERG was confined deeper inland, also facing fighting border skirmishes with Rafhazi forces. After the First Battle of Jirawi in early 1963 ended in a government victory, Republican troops initiated a coordinated purge of Jirawi residents suspected of either supporting the communists or being communists themselves. As a result, foreign support for the Bahoz regime began to dwindle and the ERG found a greater amount of supporters from abroad. The Second Battle of Jirawi in 1963 and the Battle of Arapur in 1964 were key turning points in the war in favor of the ERG.
(Left: ERG fighters during the Second Battle of Jirawi, 1963)
By 1965, the Bahoz regime was on its last legs as foreign support had dried up and the communists grew closer to Astahran. The capital fell in November, quickly followed by Haqlanah in December. By 1966, only the city of Al-Qarib and its immediate surroundings were firmly under Republican control. On January 14, the ERG leadership assembled in Astahran and proclaimed the Diyari People's Republic (Diyari:
Komara Gel a Diyayê, KGD). On January 18, forces of the fledgling KGD started pushing into the last bastion of the Bahoz regime, beginning the Battle of Al-Qarib. The battle lasted until February 17, when the last remnants of Republican forces capitulated.
