1991 Iraqi uprisings

The 1991 Iraqi uprisings were ethnic and religious uprisings against Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist regime that were mainly led by Shia rebels and Kurds. The uprisings lasted from March to April 1991 after a ceasefire following the end of the Gulf War. The mostly uncoordinated insurgency was fueled by the perception that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had become vulnerable to regime change. This perception of weakness was largely the result of the outcome of the Iran–Iraq War and the Gulf War, both of which occurred within a single decade and devastated the population and economy of Iraq.

Within the first two weeks, most of Iraq's cities and provinces fell to rebel forces. Participants in the uprising were of diverse ethnic, religious and political affiliations, including military mutineers, Shia Islamists, Kurdish nationalists, Kurdish Islamists, and far-left groups. Following initial victories, the uprising was prevented from making further progress by internal divisions as well as a lack of anticipated American and Iranian support. Saddam's Sunni Arab-dominated Ba'ath Party regime managed to maintain control over the capital of Baghdad and soon largely suppressed the rebels in a brutal campaign conducted by loyalist forces spearheaded by the Iraqi Republican Guard.

Pursuing another Security Council resolution, the United States established the Iraqi no-fly zones and formed a Western coalition to aid Kurds who had fled to Turkey. The coalition ultimately pressured Saddam to withdraw from most of Iraqi Kurdistan (except Kirkuk), after which the autonomous Kurdistan Region was established. However, they fell into a civil war until a US-brokered ceasefire in September 1998. On the other hand, Saddam viewed the Shia revolt in the south as "the most dangerous threat to his regime, and even to the continued existence of Iraq" as the Shia Arabs were the majority. The Iraqi government intensified a prior systematic forced relocation of Marsh Arabs and the draining of the Mesopotamian Marshes, and Saddam's suppression of the Shia revolt was considerably more brutal. The United States did not assist the Shia Arabs as it assisted the Kurds, leaving a legacy of mistrust among the Shia Arabs. Thousands of Iraqis detained during the suppression of the uprising remained unaccounted for. Iraqi government forces killed thousands of unarmed civilians through indiscriminate attacks, summary executions and helicopter attacks.