Bamarni Air Base is a military airport in
Duhok Governorate in the
Kurdistan Region,
Iraq. It is located near
Bamarni
Bamarni ( ar, بامرني, ku, بامهرنێ, translit=Bamernê, syr, Beṯ Mūrdānī, he, במרני) is a village and sub-district in the Dohuk Governorate in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. It is located in the Sapna valley in the district of ...
in
Amadiya District.
The base is garrisoned with around 60
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
tanks,
armoured personnel carriers, and one commando battalion.
History
The airport was partially constructed near Bamarni for use by
Saddam Hussein to visit his residence in the vicinity, and was then known as
Sarsing airport.
It was bombed in 1991 during the
Gulf War, but was rebuilt soon after by the
US 133rd Naval Mobile Construction Battalion as part of
Operation Provide Comfort.
The
Turkish Armed Forces began to operate from the airfield in 1996, and established two bases at Bamarni as part of an agreement with the
Kurdistan Democratic Party
The Kurdistan Democratic Party ( ku, Partiya Demokrat a Kurdistanê; پارتی دیموکراتی کوردستان), usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK, is the largest party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional Gov ...
, during the
Iraqi Kurdish Civil War.
The Turkish base's facilities were upgraded in 2006, and was the scene of a 90-minute standoff on 21 February 2008 after Turkish forces, consisting of approximately 350 soldiers in armoured vehicles and around 12 tanks, attempted to leave the base on deployment without prior notification to the
Kurdistan Regional Government, and thus were blocked by the
Peshmerga, causing the Turkish forces to return to base.
References
Bibliography
*
Dohuk Governorate
Iraq–Turkey relations
Turkish Air Force bases
Airports in Iraq
{{Iraq-airport-stub