Iraq Control Map & Timeline - January 2020

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Basemap by Koen Adams of onestopmap.com, with territorial control by Evan Centanni and Djordje Djukic.
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Timeline by Djordje Djukic, with additional reporting by Evan Centanni

Iraq Map: Who Controls What in 2020

In the nearly two years since our previous Iraq control map update, there have been few major changes to the situation on the ground. But the so-called "Islamic State" (IS; formerly ISIS/ISIL) isn't gone, and recent reports say the group has begun regaining power in the country's north. Tensions have also escalated recently between the US and Iran - both countries are heavily involved in Iraq, and have long competed for influence there. Meanwhile, the self-governed Kurdistan region remains in control of the far north, despite having lost some its claimed territory to the Iraqi central government in the aftermath of its controversial 2017 independence vote.

Iraq Control Map & Timeline: Government Takes Kirkuk from Kurdistan - October 2017

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Basemap by Koen Adams of onestopmap.com, with territorial control by Evan Centanni and Djordje Djukic. All rights reserved.

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Timeline by Djordje Djukic

Summary of Events
Since our previous Iraq control map update in late July, there have been big changes to territorial control in Iraq, all involving expansions of control for the Iraqi military and its close allies (mainly police and Iran-backed militias): The so-called "Islamic State" (IS; formerly ISIS/ISIL) has been driven out of its Tal Afar and Hawija enclaves, and the disputed city of Kirkuk has been retaken from Kurdish forces in response to the controversial Kurdistan independence referendum. Iraqi government forces have also begun to chip away at the remaining swath of IS territory in the countryside of Anbar province, capturing the town of Anah on the road to the Syrian border.

Kurdistan Votes to Leave Iraq: What Happens Next?

This article is part of our Referendum 2017 coverage, spotlighting controversial independence votes in two of the world's autonomous regions: Kurdistan voted yesterday on independence from Iraq, and Catalonia will vote this Sunday on leaving Spain. 

Kurdistan and disputed territories. Click for full-size map.

Residents of Iraqi Kurdistan voted Monday in a controversial referendum on whether to declare independence from Iraq, with preliminary results showing almost 92% in favor of separation. We're still waiting for (hopefully) detailed official results so we can map out how different districts voted. But in the meantime, let's answer some of the big questions:

Will Kurdistan become independent now?

The Kurdistan region's government considers this vote official and "binding", in contrast to an informal 2005 referendum, even though the Iraqi federal government in Baghdad considers it completely illegal. But it was never intended to trigger an automatic declaration of independence.

Instead, Kurdistan leader Masoud Barzani has promised to use a "YES" vote as leverage to negotiate independence with Iraqi government. So far, no date has been set for Kurdistan's declaration of independence, and it could still be years away.

Referendum 2017: Iraqi Kurdistan Map

Two of the world's autonomous regions are about to vote in controversial independence referendums. Iraqi Kurdistan decides on independence from Iraq this Monday, and on October 1 Catalonia plans to vote on leaving Spain. PolGeoNow will be covering these events with a series of articles, but in the meantime we couldn't wait to share our new Iraqi Kurdistan map with you!

Graphic by Evan Centanni and Djordje Djukic, incorporating base map by Koen Adams of onestopmap.com. All rights reserved.

Iraqi Kurdistan Independence Referendum

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan for short) is just part of the traditional homeland of the Kurds, the Middle East's fourth-largest ethnic group after Arabs, Persians, and Turks.

Many Kurds also live in Turkey, Syria, and Iran. But Iraqi Kurdistan is where they have the most legal rights, governing themselves in what's internationally recognized as an autonomous region within Iraq.

But all's not well in Kurdistan-Iraq relations. Iraqi Kurds suffered through horrific violence and persecution in the 1980s and 90s, and now the region's top politician has staked his reputation on separating Kurdistan from Iraq permanently.

Iraq Control Map & Report: September 2016

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Basemap by Koen Adams of onestopmap.com, with territorial control by Evan Centanni and Djordje Djukic. All rights reserved.

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Research and timeline by Djordje Djukic

Summary of Recent Events
After recapturing Ramadi from the so-called "Islamic State" (IS; formerly ISIS/ISIL), the Iraqi government and allies have set their sights on Mosul, the largest IS-controlled city, and until a few years ago the second largest city in Iraq (some sources say half or more of its population fled after the IS takeover in 2014). Since our last Iraq control map report at the end of June, the main change to territorial control has been the government capture of Qaiyarah, a town south of Mosul that's still more or less surrounded by IS and Kurdish controlled ground.

Iraq: Map of Al Qaeda Control

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PolGeoNow presents our first map of Iraq, showing control by the government and Al Qaeda rebels in the country's ongoing crisis. Areas of autonomous Kurdish administration in the north are also indicated.

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Territorial control in Iraq at the beginning of 2014. Map by Evan Centanni, starting from this blank map by German Wikipedia user NordNordWest. License: CC BY-SA

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By Evan Centanni

Al Qaeda in Iraq
Though the reality is of course more complex, power politics in Iraq often revolve around the country's three largest ethnic groups: Shia (Shiite) Arabs, Sunni Arabs, and Kurds (most Kurds are religiously Sunni, but their language and cultural distinguish them from Arabs). Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shia Arab, is often accused of manipulating Iraq's democracy to exclusively serve the country's Shia majority. The Kurds govern a highly autonomous region in the northeast, but the Sunni Arabs who dominate northwestern Iraq have relatively little political power. Into the fray has jumped Al Qaeda in Iraq, now part of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) organization which also controls parts of Syria (map). Al Qaeda has waged a fierce campaign against the Iraqi government in the name of Sunnis, though the group is still rejected by many of the people it claims to protect.