11 March: Erbil was Freed Under Leadership of Kosrat Rasul Ali

PUKMEDIA

Kosrat Rasul Ali among the Kurdish uprisers, in front of the Erbil Governorate.

Today, 11 March, marks the anniversary of liberating Erbil from the grip of the fallen Iraqi Ba'ath regime.

On the night of 10-11 March 1991, the spark of the uprising extended throughout the villages and districts surrounding the city of Erbil. Under Kosrat Rasul Ali's guidance and leadership, the uprising marched  towards Erbil. The Ba'athist soldiers abandoned their headquarters and camps with their equipment, weapons, and various mechanisms and the Peshmerga forces progressed with the support of the masses of the city of Erbil.
  
Following the fleeing and surrender of every member of the Ba'ath regime's security and police forces, the city of Erbil was completely freed on the afternoon of 11 March 1991.

Kosrat Rasul Ali said in a message on the anniversary of Erbil uprising: "Erbil has been a centre of battles throughout history and its people have valiantly resisted the enemy and earned their sovereignty."

He added. "As a result, it is our collective responsibility to serve the city and its people with the highest loyalty, in keeping with Erbil's greatness and history, and to set Erbil as a model for coexistence and serving without discrimination."

“That day, the Kurdish people had one goal and plan," he said.
 
The Kurdish uprising first began in Ranya town, Sulaymnaiyah, on 5 March 1991, and later spread throughout Kurdistan, where the people of Kurdistan rose against the regime of the fallen dictator Saddam Hussein, as the Peshmerga forces and the people of Kurdistan recorded heroic epics that led to the liberation of Kurdistan from the grip of the Baathists.

The PUK was the mastermind and implementer of the uprising, creating the uprising programme and spreading it across all cities in the Kurdistan Region, ultimately securing victory and liberating the city of Kirkuk."



PUKMEDIA