South Kurdistan / Iraqi Kurdistan

 invisible, draw only border, autonomous administrative region

(To overlook the area, tap on the category, "autonomous administrative region " and then touch the red dot in the map!)

South Kurdistan (Kurdish: باشووری کوردستان‎, Başûrê Kurdistanê), also known as the Kurdistan Region (Kurdish: هه‌رێمی کوردستان‎, Herêmî Kurdistan), is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders the Kurdish regions of Iran to the east ( Rojhillat), Turkey to the north (Bakur), and Syria to the west (Rojava), along with the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Erbil (known as Hewlêr in Kurdish). The region is officially governed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Kurdistan is a parliamentary democracy with a regional assembly that consists of 111 seats. The current president is Masoud Barzani, who was initially elected in 2005 and re-elected in 2009. In August 2013 the parliament extended his presidency for another two years. The new Iraqi constitution defines Iraqi Kurdistan as a federal entity of Iraq, and establishes Kurdish and Arabic as Iraq's joint official languages. The four governorates of Duhok, Hawler, Silemani, and Halabja comprise around 41,710 square kilometres (16,100 sq mi) and have a population of 8.35 million (2013 estimate). In 2014, during the 2014 Iraq Crisis, Iraqi Kurdistan's forces also took over much of the disputed territories of Northern Iraq.
There is a Armenian comunity estimated on 20,000 people living in South Kurdistan. Many the left the violance and intolerance in Mosul and Baghdad seeking for secutiry and Peace in the Kurdish region.

The establishment of the Kurdistan Region dates back to the March 1970 autonomy agreement between the Kurdish opposition and the Iraqi government after years of heavy fighting. The agreement however failed to be implemented and by 1974 Northern Iraq plunged into another round of bloody conflict between the Kurds and the Arab-dominated government of Iraq. Further, the 1980-8 Iran–Iraq War and especially the Anfal genocide campaign of the Iraqi army devastated the population and nature of Iraqi Kurdistan. Following the 1991 uprising of Kurds in the north and Shia's in the south against Saddam Hussein, the Peshmerga succeeded in pushing out the main Iraqi forces from the north. Despite significant casualties and the crisis of refugees in bordering regions of Iran and Turkey, the Peshmerga success and establishment of the northern no-fly zone following the First Gulf War in 1991 created the basis for Kurdish self-rule and facilitated the return of Kurdish refugees. As Kurds continued to fight government troops, Iraqi forces finally left Kurdistan in October 1991, leaving the region with de facto autonomy. In 1992, Kurdish major political movements of KDP and PUK established the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government. The 2003 invasion of Iraq and the subsequent political changes led to the ratification of a new Constitution of Iraq in 2005.

Kurds generally consider Iraqi Kurdistan (Southern Kurdistan) to be one of the four parts of a greater Kurdistan, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdistan), northern Syria (Western Kurdistan), and western Iran (Eastern Kurdistan).

Disputed Territories

The Disputed territories of Northern Iraq, or Disputed internal Kurdish-Iraqi boundaries, are regions defined by the article 140 of the Constitution of Iraq as being Arabised during the Baath Party rule in Iraq. Most of these regions had previously been inhabited by non-Arab minorities, most notably Kurds, and were later arabised by transferring and settling Arab tribes in those areas.

The disputed areas have been a core concern for Arabs and Kurds, especially since the US invasion and political restructuring in 2003. Kurds gained territory to the south of Iraqi Kurdistan after the US-led invasion in 2003 to regain what land they considered historically theirs. Currently, in addition to the four governorates of Iraqi Kurdistan, Kurds control parts of Nineveh Province, Kirkuk Governorate, Salah ad Din Governorate and Diyala Governorate, which are also claimed by the Iraqi government; on the other hand, Iraqi government controls parts of those four provinces, some parts of which are also claimed by the Kurds. However in 2014, during the 2014 Iraq Crisis, Iraqi Kurdistan's forces also took over much of the disputed territories.

The territories kurds consider part of Kurdistan, but are not officially recognized to be part of Kurdistan Region are:
Nineve Province:
Sinjar district, Rabiaa, Zumar and Yadia subdistrcits(part of Tal Afar district), Tel Kaif, Shikkan, Hamdania districts (part of proposed Assyrian Autonomous Region, in the Assyrian Plains) , Akre and Makhmur district.
Kirkuk Province:
Altin Kopru, Dibis, Shuwan, Qarahanjir, Laylan, Multaqa, Yacy, Taza, Daquq, Kirkuk and part of Abassi districts( west of Little Zab river).
Saladin pronvince:
Shirkat and Tuz districts.
Diala Pronvice:
Khanaqin, Kifri and Balad Ruz districts.
Wasit Province:
Badra district.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disputed_territories_of_Northern_...