Bamarni Air Base is a military airport in Duhok Governorate in the

Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region (KRI) is a semi-autonomous Federal regions of Iraq, federal region of the Iraq, Republic of Iraq. It comprises four Kurds, Kurdish-majority governorates of Arabs, Arab-majority Iraq: Erbil Governorate, Sulaymaniyah Governorate ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. It is located near Bamarni in Amadiya District.

History

The airport was partially constructed near Bamarni for use by

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

to visit his residence in the vicinity, and was then known as

Sarsing Sarsing (, ) is a town and sub-district in the Dohuk Governorate in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. It is located in the Sapna valley in the Amedi District. In the town, there is a church of Mar (title), Mar Mattai. There was previously a shrine of Mar ...

airport. It was bombed in 1991 during the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

, but was rebuilt soon after by the US 133rd Naval Mobile Construction Battalion as part of Operation Provide Comfort. The

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; , TSK) are the armed forces, military forces of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey. The TAF consist of the Turkish Army, Land Forces, the Turkish Navy, Naval Forces and the Turkish Air Force, Air Forces. The Chief of ...

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 (), usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK, is the ruling Political party, party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional Government. It was founded in 1946 in Mahabad in Iranian Kurdistan. ...

, 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 The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is the official executive body of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq. The cabinet is selected by the majority party or list who also select the prime minister of the Iraqi Kurdish poli ...

, and thus were blocked by the

Peshmerga The Peshmerga () are the internal security forces of Kurdistan Region. According to the Constitution of Iraq, regional governments are responsible for "the establishment and organization of the internal security forces for the region such as p ...

, causing the Turkish forces to return to base. It was reinforced with additional tanks and weapons in March 2015.

References

Bibliography

* Dohuk Governorate Iraq–Turkey relations Turkish Air Force bases Airports in Iraq {{Iraq-airport-stub