Senior Kurdish leaders on Wednesday commemorated the 63rd anniversary of the Eylul (September) Revolution against the Iraqi regime.

“The great Eylul Revolution, under the leadership of the late General Mustafa Barzani, was the largest nationwide political and armed uprising by the people of Kurdistan to defend and secure the legitimate rights of the Kurdish people,” President Masoud Barzani said in a statement.

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“The Eylul Revolution revived the will and self-confidence of the Kurdish people and became a powerful foundation for the political, organizational, and communal continuity of the Kurdish people’s struggle for liberation against oppression and occupation.”

The Eylul Revolution broke out in 1961 after talks between the Kurds and Baghdad failed. Thereafter, the Iraqi regime launched a military campaign against the Kurdish peshmerga forces. However, after years of fighting, Baghdad agreed to grant autonomy to the Kurds on March 11, 1970, a decision that was never implemented on the ground. 

“As we commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the Eylul Revolution, we honor the memory of the late Mustafa Barzani, the leader of the revolution, along with the courageous peshmerga fighters and all those who contributed their strength and resolve to this pivotal movement,” Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said in a statement.

Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in a post on X said that the “values of justice, unity and resilience from the Eylul Revolution continue to guide us in serving our people and safeguarding our national gains.”

“We honor the memory of the martyrs of the Eylul Revolution and all martyrs of Kurdistan.”