Pre-Crisis Phase (August 16, 1943-January 25, 1946): The Committee of Kurdish Youth (Komala-i-Zhian-i-Kurd) was established in Mahabad on August 16, 1943. The Komala became the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) in November 1945.
Crisis Phase (December 15, 1945-April 23, 1946): The Kurdish Republic of Mahabad was established in Kurdistan on December 15, 1945. The Soviet Union provided military assistance (6,200 rifles and ammunition) to Kurdish rebels in December 1945 and February 1946. The KDPI formally declared Kurdistan’s independence from Iran on January 22, 1946, and appointed Mohammed Ghazi as president of the Kurdish Republic of Mahabad on February 11, 1946.
Conflict Phase (April 24, 1946-December 16, 1946): Government troops and Kurdish rebels clashed near Saqqiz on April 24, 1946, resulting in the deaths of 21 government soldiers. Government and Kurdish representatives held negotiations on May 3, 1946. Kurdish rebels killed two government soldiers in northern Iran on May 20, 1946. Government troops launched a military offensive against Kurdish rebels near Saqqiz on June 13-15, 1946. Government troops occupied Mahabad on December 14, 1946. Mohammed Ghazi, president of the KDPI, surrendered to government troops in Miandoab on December 16, 1946. Some 1,000 individuals were killed during the conflict.
Post-Conflict Phase (December 17, 1946-March 17, 1979): Mohammed Ghazi and two other Kurdish leaders were executed in Mahabad on March 31, 1947 (eleven other Kurdish leaders were also executed). Government troops suppressed a Kurdish rebellion in northwestern Iran in 1967 and 1968. Government police executed five Kurds in Sanandaj on December 19, 1972, and government police killed Qadir Wirdy, a member of the central committee of the KDPI, in Baneh on March 22, 1972. Some 1,000 individuals were killed in political violence between December 1946 and March 1979.
Conflict Phase (March 18, 1979-December 31, 1982): Government troops and Kurdish rebels clashed in Sanandaj in western Iran on March 18-21, 1979, resulting in the deaths of some 200 individuals. Some 2,000 Kurdish rebels captured the town of Paveh in Kermanshah province on August 16, 1979. Government troops suppressed the Kurdish rebellion in Paveh on August 18, 1979, resulting in the deaths of some 380 Kurds and 18 government soldiers. Twenty-nine Kurds were executed by government troops on August 19-21, 1979. Government troops launched a siege of the town of Mahabad on August 20, 1979. Government troops seized control of the town of Mahabad on September 3, 1979, resulting in the deaths of 500 individuals. Government troops and Kurdish rebels clashed in Saqqez on August 22-26, 1979, and 19 Kurdish rebels were executed by the government on August 28, 1979. Kurdish rebels killed four government soldiers in Sardasht on August 26, 1979. Eleven Kurdish rebels were executed in Sanandaj by the government on August 27, 1979. Government troops occupied Sardasht on September 5, 1979. Kurdish rebels killed 52 government soldiers near Sardasht on October 8, 1979. Kurdish rebels captured Dezavar and Hanigarmeleh on October 10, 1979, and recaptured Mahabad on October 20, 1979. Government troops launched a military offensive against Kurdish rebels in April 1980, resulting in the deaths of some 1,000 Kurds and 500 government soldiers. The KDPI joined the National Council of Resistance (NCR) headed by former President Bani Sadr in November 1981. Government troops and Kurdish rebels clashed in November 1981, resulting in the deaths of 400 individuals. Government troops and Kurdish rebels clashed near Mahabad, Bukan, Saqqez, and Sanandaj in April 1982, resulting in the deaths of 45 rebels. Kurdish rebels attacked government troops in Mahabad on June 26, 1982, resulting in the deaths of 60 rebels and four government soldiers. Government troops and Kurdish rebels clashed on August 21-22, 1982, resulting in the deaths of 90 government soldiers. Government troops and Kurdish rebels clashed near Sardast in September 1982, resulting in the deaths of some 320 government soldiers. The PDKI rebellion ended in December 1982. More than 10,000 individuals were killed or executed, and some 200,000 individuals were displaced during the conflict.
Post-Conflict Phase (January 1, 1983-March 31, 2004): The KDPI was expelled from the NCR in April 1985. Abdul Rahman Ghassmlou, leader of the KDPI, was assassinated by Iranian intelligence agents in Vienna, Austria on July 13, 1989. Government troops and Kurdish rebels clashed near Mahabad in September and October 1989, resulting in the deaths of 172 government soldiers. Kurdish rebels attacked government troops between April 1 and August 31, 1990, resulting in the deaths of some 300 government soldiers. Seven members of the KDPI were executed by the government on January 14, 1991. Sadeq Sharafkandi, a leader of the KDPI, and three members of the KDPI were assassinated in Berlin on September 17, 1992. Iranian forces bombed an automobile in Iraqi Kurdistan on November 15, 1993, resulting in the deaths of five KDPI members. Ghafur Hamzehi, a leader of the KDPI, was assassinated by Iranian intelligence agents in Baghdad on August 4, 1994. KDPI rebels killed 15 Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRG) in western Iran on August 17, 1994. Government troops launched a military crackdown against several Kurdish villages beginning on October 11, 1994. Government forces attacked and six Iranian Kurds in northern Iraq in April 1995. KDPI rebels killed 15 government soldiers in western Iran on December 4, 1995. Government troops killed some 20 KDPI members in northern Iraq on July 29, 1996, resulting in the displacement of some 2,000 Iranian Kurds. Several thousand individuals, including Iranian Kurds and government security forces, were killed or executed between January 1983 and March 2004.
Conflict Phase (April 1, 2004-present): The Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK) launched an insurgency against the government beginning on April 1, 2004. Shivan Qaderi, an Iranian Kurdish activist, and two other individuals were killed by government security forces in Mahabad on July 9, 2005. PJAK rebels clashed with government policemen in the town of Urmia on August 7, 2005, resulting in the deaths of four government policemen. Government troops killed eight Kurdish demonstrators in Maku on February 21, 2006. PJAK rebels killed three government soldiers in northwestern Iran on March 29, 2006. PJAK rebels killed some 24 government soldiers on April 3, 2006. PJAK rebels killed four government soldiers near the town of Mako on May 27, 2006. PJAK rebels clashed with government troops near Sardasht on September 5, 2006, resulting in the deaths of some 30 rebels. PJAK rebels and government troops clashed in West Azerbaijan Province between February 25 and March 1, 2007, resulting in the deaths of some 47 rebels and 17 government soldiers. PJAK rebels attacked police stations in Kermanshah and Kordestan province on April 24-25, 2009, resulting in the deaths of some eleven government policemen and ten rebels. Four Iranian Kurds were executed in Tehran on May 9, 2010. PJAK rebels killed two government policemen in Sanadaj in Kurdistan Province on March 24, 2011. PJAK rebels killed four government border guards near the city of Marivan on April 1, 2011. On July 16, 2011, government troops launched a military offensive against PJAK rebels in northern Iraq and on July 16, 2011. The PJAK called for a unilateral ceasefire on September 5, 2011, and military hostilities temporarily ceased on September 12, 2011. Several hundred government soldiers and PJAK rebels were killed during the military offensive. PJAK rebels clashed with government troops in Baneh in northwest Iran on December 28, 2011. PJAK rebels clashed with government troops near Paveh in Kermanshah Province on April 25, 2012, resulting in the deaths of four government soldiers. Several hundred government soldiers and PJAK rebels have been killed during the conflict.
[Sources: British Broadcasting Corporation (BCC) News, July 26, 2005, July 18, 2011; Chaliand, 1993, 105-113, 122-137; Ciment 1996; Degenhardt 1988, 168-169; Facts on File, March 23, 1979, August 31, 1979, September 7, 1979, October 26, 1979; Fars News Agency (FNA), July 22, 2011; Financial Times (FT), August 29, 2005; Keesing’s Record of World Events, June 20, 1980, November 12, 1982, July 1989, August 1994; New York Times (NYT), August 14, 2005; O’Ballance, 1996, 21-35, 43-44, 107-115, 125-127, 135-137, 177-178; Pelletiere, 1984, 95-114; Reuters, August 9, 2005; The Guardian, August 4, 2005.]