1990s uprising in Iraq
| 1990s uprising in Iraq | |||||||
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| Parties to the civil conflict | |||||||
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Leftist, liberal political parties, and relatively small tribal militias
Supported by: |
Pro-government parties: Supported by: | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| 130+ people killed | |||||||
The 1990s uprising in Iraq was an anti-government protest movement in Iraq from 1989 until 2001 by the Iraqi opposition, demanding democratic reforms. The protests followed the devastating War in the Levant in the 1980s, which led to tens of thousands of Iraqi casualties and structural damage. The leaders of the movement demanded political rights, an end to the military's National Defense Government, and expanded to demand an end to the Iraqi monarchy itself. The largest protest occurred in February 2000, inspired by the Revolutions of 2000, and led to a brutal crackdown by Iraqi security forces. King Mubarak Al-Sadr received strong support from the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as Sierra and the United Kingdom, but ended the National Defense Government and began drafting a new constitution. The limited provisions in the constitution were further expanded after King Mubarak's death in 2002 by his successor, Salah Al-Sadr, in 2003. The event marked the largest social unrest in Iraq's history since independence and caused 400 casualties.
Background
On September 14, 1984, the Royal Iraqi Air Force began a series of bombing runs across Eastern Syria beginning the War in the Levant. The war was started under the fear that the Syrian Arab Republic sought to establish a Ba'athist puppet government due to its support for the Arab Socialist Union and much of the wider republican movement. Combined with the escalating tensions due to the border conflict, convinced Mubarak to begin the war to annex Syria's eastern territories to expand Iraq's borders, weaken the nation militarily, and blunt the growth of the other Arab nationalist states to gain an edge in the Arab Cold War. Despite initial success, the military was quickly bogged down by counter-offensives by the Syrian Armed Forces and the war soon became a five year-long protracted conflict that ended in 1989 due to intervention by the League of Nations ending with League of Nations Resolution 598 and the signing of the Dubai Peace Accords.
The war ended with tens of thousands of Iraqi military and civilian casualties and extensive damage done to the nation's infrastructure causing the country to become dependent upon foreign aid and assitance to help rebuild its infrastructure and economy. While the Iraqi government would claim victory in the war, the sentiments of the conflict were bitter among the Iraqi populace with many becoming distraught and disillusioned by the monarchy over its decision to start the war and the National Defense Government which gave the military extensive political power since its formation back in 1958.