У статті досліджуються витоки і перебіг конфлікту між провідними курдськими організаціями Іраку - Патріотичним союзом Курдистану (Дж. Талабані) та Демократичною партією Курдистану (М. Барзані). Відзначено, що на початку 1990-х років склалися сприятливі умови для виникнення курдської державності на базі Курдського автономного регіону в Іраку. Одначе, конкуренція за лідерство між двома політичними організаціями курдів вилилася у повномасштабний збройний конфлікт, який розгорівся у 1994-1996 роках. Автор встановлює основні чинники, що вплинули на припинення конфлікту та призвели до порозуміння між двома політичними організаціями курдів Іраку.
Kurds are an Iranian ethnic group that compactly resides in a large geographical area, at the junction of Asia Minor, the Caucasus, the Iranian Highlands, and Mesopotamia, called Kurdistan. Currently, the region is divided between four states - Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. Ethnic Kurdistan has been constantly in a state of instability since the 20th century. Because of this, the Kurdish issue is one of the most pressing problems in recent history and is at the forefront of the political life of the Middle East region. Kurds are the most numerous people who, at the present stage of human development, do not ha&ve their own statehood and have existed for a long time without autonomy. For a long period of time, they have been fighting for self-determination, and Iraqi Kurdistan has a major role to play in it. It is this region that has made the most progress& in the political sphere, notably thanks to the creation of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in 1946. For almost half a century, under unfavorable conditions, its activities have helped to develop a new political culture and the so-called "pluralism of& thoughts". The split within this party has shown that no national movement is unitary and combines the interests of different social and political groups. Further deepening of the contradictions, in addition to the difficult situation of Iraq in the& international arena, resulted in armed conflict. During the civil war, both Kurdish parties from other countries and the armed forces of Iraq, Iran and Turkey intervened in it. In fact, the inter-Kurdish conflict in Iraqi Kurdistan has become a sign&ificant step towards the realization of the issue of autonomy.
