Iraqi Civil War
Date Jan 5, 2013 - Mar 23, 2013 (2 months, 2 weeks, 4 days) Location Iraq and bordering areas, Causes Unrest in the Middle East Result The formation of Iraqi Kurdistan, Shia Iraq and Sunni Iraq. The occupation of Kurdistan and Shia Iraq. The reformation of Iraq. Turkish annexation of Kurdistan
Belligerents
Sunni Iraq and allies Sunni Iraq Coalition NATO United States Canada European Union France United Kingdom Germany Italy Spain Poland ...and others. Turkey ...and others. Arab League Saudi Arabia UAE Oman Yemen Bahrain Qatar Jordan Kuwait Egypt Morocco Palestine ...and others. Iran (Republic of) Bosnia and Herzegovina Macedonia Israel Armenia Georgia Azerbaijan Ukraine Uzbekistan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Afghanistan Pakistan India Mongolia Thailand Malaysia Indonesia Philippines Japan South Korea Australia New Zealand Ethiopia Kenya South Africa Mexico Brazil Sunni Islamists Al-Qaeda Salafists	Shia Iraq and allies Shia Iraq Iran (government in exile) Al-Ahvaz Venezuela Cuba North Korea Shi'ite insurgent groups Hezbollah (Syria) Houthis (Yemen) Shi'ite groups of Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, etc.	Kurdistan and allies Kurdistan Kurdish insurgent groups

The Iraqi Civil War was a civil war in Iraq, starting on January 5, 2013 and ending on March 23, 2013. It is sometimes classified as a conflict of the Arab Spring, despite it being the result of many surrounding conflicts such as the Iran War.

Civil unrest and warsEdit

In 2010, the Arab Spring, a large wave of riots across the Arab World, began. A coalition with Turkey in the lead entered the Syrian Civil War, which ended with president Assad being killed by the rebels, and later, with the formation of Kurdish Syria. Kurdish Syria then teamed up with Turkish Kurdistan, which declared independence on August 29, and fought a war against Turkey, seeking a greater Kurdish nation, but it was annexed by Turkey at the end of the war.

In July 2012, the Iran War, between Iran and a coalition with the United States in the lead, began. Iran had a controversial nuclear program that the Coalition wanted to get rid of, and when Iran closed the important Strait of Hormuz, the war officially started. When the Iran War ended in December, Iran was fully occupied by the Coalition and some areas declared independence, including Iranian Kurdistan, which did it on September 12.

The civil war beginsEdit

On November 8, a few days after the Turkish annexation of Kurdish Syria, Iraqi Kurdistan declared independence and started fighting Turkey. On December 28, Iranian Kurdistan, Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkish Kurdistan united as the Republic of Kurdistan, which caused Turkey to fight beyond its borders. On January 5 2013, the southeastern part of Iraq declared independence as the Shia Islamic Republic of Iraq. At this point it was clear that the Iraqi Civil War had begun. When the Iranian government in exile as well as Al-Ahvaz declared their support to Shia Iraq, the same Coalition as the one that occupied Iran entered the war on Sunni iraq's side. Al-Ahvaz eventually joined as a part of Shia Iraq on January 12 2013.

Invasion of KurdistanEdit

On January 8, the Coalition launched the invasion of Kurdistan with Turkey in the lead. Soldiers in helicopters headed straight for the cities of Urmia in Iranian Kurdistan and Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan. Within a week, most of Kurdistan was occupied by the Coalition. On January 20, a car bomb exploded in central Ankara, the capital of Turkey, and killed 23 people.

Invasion of Shia IraqEdit

On January 15, the Coalition launched the invasion of Shia Iraq with the United States in the lead. Soldiers in helicopters headed for large cities such as Basra and Ahvaz, while entering it from all sides. Within 2 months, all of Shia Iraq was under coalitional administration.

The civil war endsEdit

On March 23, after only 2 months, 2 weeks and 4 days, the Coalition declared that they had successfully occupied entire Iraq.

However, guerrilla attacks continued to occur for a very long time in various cities. On March 27, Turkey annexed all of Kurdistan as well as the West Azerbaijan Province in Iran, arguing that in order to bring peace to the region, Kurdistan had to be under the control of one country. This was strongly criticized by Russia, China and various other countries.

On April 1, the rest of Iraq was reunited as the Federal Republic of Iraq, and now consisted of 2 self-governing provinces, the Sunni Province and the Shia Federation, and 1 district, Baghdad.