Haji Omaran is located in the northeast of the city of Erbil at a distance of 183 km, belonging to the Choman district on the border of the Kurdistan Region and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The geographical location of the area has caused it to witness many important historical events, especially in the revolutions of Kurdistan, where it had a prominent role, the most prominent of which was the outbreak of Aylul Revolution in the year (1961 to 1975) under the leadership of Mullah Mustafa Barzani, in the re-outbreak of Gulan Revolution as well, the first Martyr of the revolution was in that border area named Martyr Sayid Abdullah on 26 of May 1976. Besides that, other battles and stories have occurred there. In the year (1980 to 1988), Haji Omaran and its villages were completely destroyed for a period of 3 years due to the eight-year war between Iraq and Iran. Later, in the spring of 1991, due to the great uprising of the Kurd people, the area was completely rebuilt.
After the re-outbreak of the Gulan Revolution, the Headquarters of the Political Bureau of the Kurdistan Democratic Party was in the village of Kawpar in Khane (Piranshahr) of Eastern Kurdistan. Clearly, during that period, the Iraqi Army artillery from Haji Omaran had harassed them with random shelling, so the revolution leadership decided that something must be done to push that artillery away. For this, a force of approximately 60 Peshmerga was allocated under the command of Zakri Yahya Khan, Yasin Berokhi, Ahmed Kashkhay Galali, Hassan Agha Zeweyi, and Omar Osman to carry out that activity. The force climbed from Gali Haji Ibrahim to Small Qandil towards Mount Kodo. Their location was very dominant over the Haji Omaran, Rayat, and Choman area and its surroundings. From that location, they informed the country of Iran via artillery to start shelling the artillery battalion and the Iraqi regime military base in Haji Omaran. After identifying the location, for a period of two to three days, the Iraqi Army base and artillery were shelled accurately. As a result of the shelling, they could no longer hold their ground; after suffering heavy losses, they retreated and moved away.
When the revolution leadership was certain that the war between Iraq and Iran would enter a difficult phase, it was necessary to take advantage of that opportunity. For this, they held a meeting with the military Commanders of the revolution, putting the war between the two states up for discussion and deliberation. Clearly, according to the information that had been obtained, due to the war, the border areas did not have much force left, so it was deemed appropriate for those areas to fall under the authority of the revolution. To implement that idea, the revolution leadership decided to launch an attack on Haji Omaran with the intention of trying to liberate it, but they had a problem, which was that during that period, the heights of the area were in the hands of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran.
On the night of 17 to 18 of October 1980, the Peshmerga of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, with the support of Iraqi artillery, attacked the military base of the Khane (Piranshahr) garrison; they shelled it very heavily. After the attack, the forces of the Democratic Party vacated Haji Omaran. After that, the revolution leadership sent the Peshmerga force to the heights of the area and also requested help from the Iranian government to assist them in that attack. Although they expressed consent, the help was not as expected. After holding a meeting of Masoud Barzani, the President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, with the Peshmerga officials, the tasks of the attack were determined for them as follows:
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Ali Khalil, Sabri Nerwayi, Ali Shaban, and Najmadin Goroni were designated for the Ene and Maran valley to put pressure on the Choman-Haji Omaran road under the command of Ali Khalil, the axis official.
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M. Ali and the Second Branch force descended through the Gadozhor side to the Rayat road.
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Hamid Afandi and Arif Yasin and the Fourth Branch and Tahsin Nerwayi and Abdulrahman Taha for the Siber valley in the east of Haji Omaran.
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Hasso Mirxan Zhazhoki was entrusted with Shiwashash.
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The forces of the Second Branch, Rasul Faqe, Abdullah Qado, Feyzo Salim Khan, and Mullah Rasul, were assigned the Haji
Omran road to travel through.
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Haji Berokhi and Rashid Isomeri remained in Qamtara as a reserve force.
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Dr. Roj Nuri Shaways, Rais Abdullah, Azad Barwari, and Fatah Agha were entrusted with the command and supervision of the battle in the field.
On 11 of November 1980, all the tasks of the attack were completed, and each force set off towards its location. The assistance of the country of Iran to support the battle consisted of shelling the Iraqi Army bases and logistical support and transporting the Martyr and the wounded, for which a helicopter was to be used. Also, in the event of the arrival of Iraqi Army helicopters for the battle, the country of Iran would support the Peshmerga with fighter jets. Although it promised, it was not as necessary in implementation. Although the situation of the government forces was stronger than the Peshmerga had understood and according to the information they had received, the only major obstacle in front of them was snow and cold.
On 15 of November 1980, the attack began. At first, the Iranian artillery shelled the locations that were being observed by the Peshmerga, but it was not at the level of that expectation; even once, it almost hit the Peshmerga on the top of Shiwashash. In the Siber axis, three important locations fell into the hands of the Peshmerga, and five Military personnel were taken prisoner, but on the heights, due to snow and storms, they fell into a difficult situation. At first, the attack proceeded very successfully; the Peshmerga took control from Haji Omaran to near the mosque. The bodies of a large number of Iraqi Army Military personnel were left on the battlefield, but with the spread of the news of the martyrdom of Fatah Agha and a number of Peshmerga from Haji Berokhi's force due to shelling, the campaign cooled down.
This battle of the Peshmerga lasted 48 hours. Many places fell into the hands of the Peshmerga, but it was decided to withdraw due to the danger of snow blocking the roads, and it was difficult for the Peshmerga to hold their ground due to the cold and freezing weather. Furthermore, a large force of the regime in Diana was on alert to attack the Peshmerga. The losses of the Iraqi Army in that battle, including killed and wounded, were more than 70 soldiers, along with five prisoners and some weapons and ammunition that fell into the hands of the Peshmerga. After the decision was made to stop the attack, the Peshmerga force withdrew. The commando force belonging to the Iraqi Army returned to its previous positions. The Peshmerga force remained in the village of Tamarchean within the territory of Eastern Kurdistan for a month, but they would go up to the heights of the area for guard duty.
The losses of the Peshmerga force in that battle consisted of 14 Martyrs and 26 wounded, many of whom were due to the intense shelling by the Iraqi Army artillery. It is worth mentioning, as stated in the book Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, that the Situation of the Iraqi government forces was stronger than the Peshmerga had understood based on the information they had received. On one hand, and the cold and freezing weather of the season on the other hand, made it so that the Peshmerga could not fully take control of Haji Omeran and liberate it, especially to remain on the heights permanently.
Sources:-
Omar Osman, Kurdish Life, Volume One and Two, Mukryan Printing House, Second Edition, Erbil-2008.
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Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Volume Four 1975 – 1990 The Gulan Revolution, Part Two, First Edition, Roxana Printing House, 2021.
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Ghazi Adil Gardi, A Peshmerga in the Service of the Barzani Path, Haji Birokhi, Volume Two, Second Edition, Turkey, 2021.
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Haji Mirxan Dolemari, Searching for Justice, Volume Two, Second Edition, Kurdistan- 2021.