Word: peshmerga
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...north, things were different, and for almost a month the Kurds lived a dream. An uprising that began on March 4 in the town of Rania spread like a sandstorm to engulf all Iraqi Kurdistan. The peshmerga (those who face death), as the rebel fighters are called, did not need to capture towns, as local Iraqi Kurdish militiamen spontaneously joined the rebellion. Fighter Kamal Kirkuki repeated joyfully to all who would listen, "We Kurds are finally free." Jails were thrown open; prisoners set at liberty. Kurds spoke openly of their travails without fear of retribution from Baghdad's once omnipresent...
...Kurds fought back bravely. But there was a stylized, almost medieval < ferocity to their resistance. The peshmerga were dressed in turbans and baggy khaki trousers. Along with their AK-47s, SAMs and submachine guns, they carried a traditional dagger stuck into their sashes. "I am very happy," said one peshmerga. He pointed toward the battle zone to indicate the source of his joy: "War." Possessed of an incredible sense of honor, the peshmerga buried all the Iraqi soldiers they killed with full military honors. Explained Idriss Makmoud, a peshmerga commander: "That is the honorable way." Attempting to retake Kirkuk...
...evening the sun is boiling red, but the wind is cool. The men become silent. It is the moment of peace before the carnage, and the peshmerga savor these remaining minutes. In only a few hours, many of them will be dead or wounded. But they grin fiercely, and one fighter with mustaches that stretch inches from either side of his face barks, "I will use these to strangle Saddam...
...lookout on the hill yells, "Helicopters! Helicopters!" There are seven of them, all firing rockets. There is incoming artillery fire: Boom- whistle-bang-boom-whistle-bang-boom-whistle-bang. What follows is a mad melee of men scattering like quicksilver into gullies, ditches, crevices, behind hillocks, into hollows. The peshmerga are helpless before these gunships, but it is not for want of trying. They tear open with everything they have: antiaircraft guns, rockets, small arms, machine guns, even mortars. But their fire is confused and disorganized. The "damnation birds" keep wheeling around and coming back, untouchable...
...their latest campaign the rebels claim that in addition to their 30,000 fighters, called the peshmerga (those who face death), they have on their side some 20,000 defectors from the regular military and another 200,000 militiamen. But these figures are believed to be greatly exaggerated. "If you add them up," says a senior British diplomat, "the fighting should have ended some time...