View source for Place:Kifri

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{{Infobox settlement
| name               = 
| official_name      = Kifri
| native_name        = کفری
| other_name         = Kifrî
| settlement_type    = Town
| image_skyline      = کفری.jpg
| imagesize          = 
| image_caption      = View over Kifri
| pushpin_map        = Iraq
| pushpin_label_position = right
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Iraqi Kurdistan
| coordinates        = {{coord|34|41|0|N|44|58|0|E|region:IQ|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = {{flag|Iraq}}
| subdivision_type1  = Governorate
| subdivision_name1  = {{flagcountry|Kurdistan Region}}
| subdivision_type2  = Autonomous region
| subdivision_name2  = Sulaymaniyah
| established_title  = 
| established_date   = 
| leader_title       = 
| leader_name        = 
| area_total_km2     = 
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 282
| elevation_ft       = 
| population_total   = 32,870
| population_as_of   = 2014
| population_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web |title=Demographic Survey - Kurdistan Region of Iraq |url=https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/KRSO_IOM_UNFPA_Demographic_Survey_Kurdistan_Region_of_Iraq.pdf |publisher=UNFPA |access-date=18 October 2020 |page=78 |date=2018}}</ref>
| population_density_km2 = auto
| website            = 
| footnotes          = 
| timezone           = [[UTC+03:00|UTC+3]]
| utc_offset         = 
}}
'''Kifri''' ({{lang-ar|کفري}};<ref>{{cite web |title=كفري {{!}} كوردستان المدهشة - الموقع الرسمي للسياحة في كوردستان |url=http://bot.gov.krd/arabic/garmian-administration/kifri |website=bot.gov.krd |access-date=20 December 2019 |language=ar}}</ref> {{lang-ku|کفری|translit=Kifrî}};<ref>{{cite web|title=كفری|url=http://bot.gov.krd/kurdish/garmian-administration/kifri|access-date=20 December 2019|website=bot.gov.krd|language=ku}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Dû welatîyên Kurd li rê ya Kerkûk- Kifrî hatin revandin|language=ku|work=Kurdistan24|url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/ku/news/a87d6ce6-0d70-4899-9820-3e1bd271afea|access-date=20 December 2019}}</ref> {{lang-tr|Kifri}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Kifri'nin Türkmen kimliği tehlikede |url=https://www.tbajansi.com/kifrinin-turkmen-kimligi-tehlikede/ |website=Türkmen Basın Ajansı |access-date=10 October 2020}}</ref>) is the central town of Kifri District in [[Place:Diyala Governorate|Diyala Governorate]], Iraq. It has a mixed population of Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Lawrence|first=Quit|title=Invisible Nation: How the Kurds' Quest for Statehood Is Shaping Iraq and the Middle East|publisher=[[Company:Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury Publishing]]|year=2009|pages=265}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> It is under de facto administration by Kurdistan Region, but remains a disputed area claimed by the central government.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

== History ==
Kifri was known to have oil as early as the 1820s.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Iraq Today|year=1980|volume=104-127|pages=25}}</ref> James Buckingham visited Kifri in the 1820s. He described the town as clean and moderately large, estimating its population at 3,000. Buckingham also described the town as having furnished bazaars with excellent fruit, especially melons and grapes. Kifri had a cookshop selling kebabs, roast meat and sausages, and one coffee-house.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Buckingham |first=James Silk |title=Travels In Mesopotamia |year=1827 |pages=347–353 |quote="The  town  of  Kufree,  or  Kiffree,  is  seated  on  a  plain,  at  the termination  of  the  line  of  bare  hills,  described  on  our  way  from Baiaat  to  this  place,  and  extending  throughout  the  whole  distance between  them.  The  town  is  moderately  large,  and  is  enclosed within  a  wall,  which,  as  well  as  the  buildings  within  its  enclosure,  is constructed  of  mud,  hardened  by  pebbles  being  imbedded  in  it. There  is  a  stream  of  clear  water  which  runs  within  the  wall,  on  the east;  and  this  is  distributed  by  small  canals  through  the  central parts  of  the  town,  contributing  to  the  cleanliness  of  the  place,  and the  convenience  of  its  inhabitants.  The  wall  of  the  town,  near which  this  stream  begins  to  run,  has  a  high  parapet,  or  breast-work, ...[the population] of Kiffree being estimated at three thousand... pierced with  loop-holes for musketry; and the platform of this is ascended to by narrow flights of  steps,  but  there  were  no  cannon planted  in  any  part  of  it. The  bazars  are  very  mean  in  appearance,  though  they  are  furnished with  a  sufficiency  of  provisions,  and  particularly  with  excellent fruit,  among  which  melons  and  grapes  are  the  best  and most abundant. There is a good  cook-shop,  at  which  kebubs,  or  roasted  meat and  sausages can  be  procured; and though there is only one coffee-house in the place, this is adequate to the supply of all the idlers and passengers through the town."}}</ref> 

Kifri, which was also known as Salahiye during the Ottoman era,<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2012|title=Mosul in the Ottoman Vilâyet Salnâmes|url=https://orsam.org.tr/d_hbanaliz/5eng_1.pdf|journal=ORSAM|pages=32|isbn=978-605-5330-94-1}}</ref> was part of the [[Place:Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Empire]] until the {{wipe|United Kingdom}} captured the town in April 1918 during the Mesopotamian campaign.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ahmad|first=Kamal M|title=Kurdistan During the First World War|publisher=Saqi Books|year=1994|pages=106}}</ref> During the capture, 565 Ottoman prisoners and one mountain gun were captured.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Carey|first1=Gordon Vero|title=An Outline History of the Great War|last2=Scott|first2=Hugh Sumner|publisher=CUP Archive|year=1928|pages=240}}</ref> The local Kurds were supportive of the British and were described as very hostile to the Ottomans.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Azeez|first=Ranjdar Mohammed|date=2019|title=British Attitude Towards Southern Kurdistan between 1917 and 1919|url=http://jgu.garmian.edu.krd/article_99069_f775acffaf396f9e99e5ac1cacfdc1e5.pdf|journal= Journal of Garmian University|volume=6|issue=3|pages=264|doi=10.24271/garmian.196353|s2cid=214443414}}</ref> Britain briefly lost control over the town for two days during the revolt of 1920 to the local tribes. Captain G. H. Salmon was killed during the tribal takeover.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jalil|first=Hawkar Muheddin|date=2017|title=The British Administration of South Kurdistan and Local Responses, 1918-1932|publisher=[[Organization:University of Leicester|University of Leicester]]|pages=78}}</ref>

The locals of Kifri did not support the Mahmud Barzanji revolts causing Mahmud Barzanji not to push for the inclusion of the town into his jurisdiction.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Young|first=Robert Vernon Joseph|date=1997|title=The history of Iraqi Levies 1915-1932|url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/28511/1/10672670.pdf|journal=University of London|pages=67}}</ref> In 1921, the town was included in the plans of Winston Churchill in creating an independent [[Place:Kurdistan|Kurdistan]] which would work as a bulwark against [[Place:Turkey|Turkey]].<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Fuat|first=Dundar|date=2012|title=British Use of Statistics in the Iraqi Kurdish Question (1919–1932)|url=https://www.brandeis.edu/crown/publications/papers/pdfs/cp7.pdf|journal=Crown Center for Middle East Studies|publisher=[[Organization:Brandeis University|Brandeis University]]|page=14|access-date=12 November 2019}}</ref>

Under the British Mandate of Iraq, the [[Social:Turkmen language|Turkoman]] language was an official language in Kifri under Article 5 of the Language Act of 1930, due to the town's significant Turkmen population.<ref name="Bammarny 2016 loc=482">{{citation|last=Bammarny|first=Bawar|title=Constitutionalism, Human Rights, and Islam After the Arab Spring|page=482|year=2016|editor1-last=Grote|editor1-first=Rainer|chapter=The Legal Status of the Kurds in Iraq and Syria|publisher=[[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0190627645|editor2-last=Röder|editor2-first=Tilmann J.}}</ref>

British data stated that Kurds constituted 67% and 60% of the population in the town in 1924 and 1931, respectively, while the remaining population was Arab and Turkmen.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal|author1=Fuat Dundar|date=2012|title=British Use of Statistics in the Iraqi Kurdish Question (1919–1932)|url=https://www.brandeis.edu/crown/publications/papers/pdfs/cp7.pdf|page=44|access-date=12 November 2019}}</ref> However, the town was not included in the 1931 British-Iraqi 'Local Languages Law' initiative which would have made Kurdish an official language in the town for arbitrary reasons.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Fuat Dundar|date=2012|title=British Use of Statistics in the Iraqi Kurdish Question (1919–1932)|url=https://www.brandeis.edu/crown/publications/papers/pdfs/cp7.pdf|page=42|access-date=12 November 2019}}</ref> 70% of the population was Kurdish in the Iraqi census of 1947.<ref>{{cite book|author1=C. J. Edmonds|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qm26AAAAIAAJ|title=Kurds, Turks and Arabs, Politics, Travel and Research in North-Eastern Iraq, 1919-1925|date=1957|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=438|access-date=17 November 2019}}</ref>

Iraq's first two Turkmen schools were opened on November 17, 1993, one in [[Place:Erbil|Erbil]] and the other in Kifri.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iraqi Turkmen are happy as their national days recognized |url=https://kirkuknow.com/en/news/61220 |access-date=2022-06-03 |website=Kirkuknow}}</ref>

=== Iraqi-Kurdish conflict ===
While it was previously part of Kirkuk Governorate, it was attached to [[Place:Diyala Governorate|Diyala Governorate]] in 1976 as part of the [[Social:Arabization|Arabization]] efforts by Iraq.<ref name=":0" />

The town was quickly captured by Kurdish rebels (Peshmerga) in March 1991 during an uprising that began that month.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Chapman|first=Dennis P.|date=2009|title=Security forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government|url=https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a510826.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104044126/https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a510826.pdf|url-status=live|archive-date=November 4, 2019|journal=United States Army War College|pages=19}}</ref> In October 1991, heavy fighting took place between Iraqi forces and Peshmerga after the former had started shelling the town indiscriminately, prompting about 1,000 Kurds to flee toward [[Place:Sulaymaniyah|Sulaymaniyah]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=8 October 1991|title=Rebel Kurds kill 60 unarmed Iraqis|work={{wipe|New York Times}}|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/08/world/rebel-kurds-kill-60-unarmed-iraqis.html|access-date=18 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=28 February 1995|title=Human Rights Abuses in Iraqi Kurdistan Since 1991|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a9e94.html|access-date=18 October 2020}}</ref> Iraqi forces would ultimately fail at recapturing the town<ref>{{Cite web|date=1995|title=Iraq - Human rights abuses in Iraqi Kurdistan since 1991|url=https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/180000/mde140011995en.pdf|access-date=18 October 2020|website=Amnesty International|page=8}}</ref> and Kifri would be included in the autonomous Kurdistan Region when established in May 1992, despite being part of [[Place:Diyala Governorate|Diyala Governorate]].<ref name=":0" /> 

The town experienced deadly clashes between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Islamic Movement in December 1993 which quickly spread to other towns in the region. 18 KIM members were killed on 28 December only.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1995|title=Iraq - Human rights abuses in Iraqi Kurdistan since 1991|url=https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/180000/mde140011995en.pdf|access-date=18 October 2020|website=Amnesty International|pages=96–100}}</ref>

Despite being the southernmost point of the autonomous region, the town remained calm for over a decade until April 2003 when the US military shelled the outskirts of the town during the US-led invasion of Iraq, forcing the Iraqi Army to retreat southward.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Vick|first=Karl|date=3 April 2003|title=Town Shelled After 12 Years On the Edge|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2003/04/03/town-shelled-after-12-years-on-the-edge/189e22c4-04a7-4e79-b4bb-64c584e9624b/|access-date=18 October 2020}}</ref> In April 2005, a mass grave from the Anfal genocide was discovered in the town.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2005|title=Bulletin N. 241 - April 2005|url=https://www.institutkurde.org/en/publications/bulletins/241.html|access-date=19 October 2020|website=Kurdish Institute of Paris}}</ref> In September 2005, residents of Kifri demanded to be reincorporated into Kirkuk Governorate to reverse the Arabization policy of 1976.<ref>{{Cite web|date=13 September 2005|title=Iraq: Kurdish districts demand return to Kirkuk|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/iraq/iraq-kurdish-districts-demand-return-kirkuk|access-date=19 October 2020}}</ref>

In July 2020, Iraqi and Kurdish forces agreed to jointly run the area south of the town despite recurring tensions.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|date=11 October 2020|title=Kurdish farmers accuse Iraqi army of cutting them off from fields near Kifri|work=Rûdaw|url=https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/111020202|access-date=18 October 2020}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news|date=16 July 2020|title='Uncoordinated' Iraqi troop deployment near Kurdistan Region border angers Peshmerga officials|work=Rûdaw|url=https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/16072020|access-date=18 October 2020}}</ref>

== Jewish community ==
A [[Religion:Jews|Jewish]] community existed in Kifri for decades until the exodus to [[Place:Israel|Israel]] in the 1950s. While the Jewish population in Kifri was only six in 1826, it grew to 15 households in 1845 with one [[Engineering:Synagogue|synagogue]] located in the town. The number of Jews was 30 households in 1859 and 50 people in 1884. The population grew steadily by the turn of the century to 300 people in 1906, 540 in 1924 and 722 in 1931.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Jewish Community of Kifri-Salhiya|url=https://dbs.bh.org.il/place/kifri-salhiya|access-date=19 October 2020|website=Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot}}</ref>

== Eski Kifri ==
Eski Kifri (lit. ‘Old Kifri’ in Turkish) is a large and extensive site situated some eight kilometers south-west of Kifri.<ref>{{cite web|title=Eski Kifri|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/x117947|access-date=10 October 2020|website=British Museum}}</ref> In the 19th century, Claudius Rich found artefacts at the site dating to the Sasanian and [[History:Middle Assyrian Empire|Middle Assyrian]] periods, including a fortified complex, jar and vessel.<ref>{{Cite web |title=jar {{!}} British Museum |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1825-0503-98 |access-date=2022-06-03 |website=The British Museum |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=vessel {{!}} British Museum |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_2015-6026-12 |access-date=2022-06-03 |website=The British Museum |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=drawing {{!}} British Museum |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1987-0220-2 |access-date=2022-06-03 |website=The British Museum |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
* Garmekan
* Garmian Region
* Beth Garmai
* Kaveh Golestan
* Latif Halmat

== References ==
{{Reflist}}


[[Category:District capitals of Iraq]]

{{Sourceattribution|Kifri}}