Khanaqin

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Khanaqin
a view of Khanaqin
Khanaqin Khanaqin's location inside Iraq
Coordinates: 34°20′0″N 45°23′0″E / 34.333333°N 45.383333°E / 34.333333; 45.383333
Country	Iraq
Governorate	Diyala Governorate
Elevation	602 ft (183 m)
Population (1990[1])
- Total	60.800

Khanaqin Kurdish خانه قين,Xaneqîn (Arabic خانقين, , also transliterated as Khanakin, Xanaqin) is a city in eastern Iraq, south of Kurdish regions. It is located at 34.3°N, 45.4°E in the Diyala Governorate, near the Iranian border on a tributary of the Diyala River.

Khanaqin is the administrative capital of the Khanaqin District. This District contains several cities such as As-Sadiyah and Jalula as well as hundreds of villages.

Khanaqin is divided into two parts by the Alwand River, this river has played a significant role in land cultivation and in establishment of a strong rural society in the area. The river is considered by the people of Khanaqin as a symbol for their unity and Kurdish identity.

People

The majority of people of the city of Khanaqin are Kurds ^[2] (although the province of Diyala is majority Arab). They speak mainly the Kalhuri branch of southern Kurdish dialects which is Indo-European and belong to Iranic group. These dialects are closely related to each other and called Feyli or Xanaqini by the locals(see southern Kurdish).

History

Khanaqin's original name was Du-Khanag and was a part of the Persian Empire for centuries. The name Du-Khānag (دوخانگ) means "Two Houses" in Persian. After the Arabic invasion of Persia, the occupiers Arabized many of the local names and also omitted the word du (two) from this name and attached the Arabic suffix of dualis after the name, hence Du-khānag became Khānag-ayn and Khanaqin.^[3]

During the Arabization policy of the Iraqi Ba'th regime Sunni Arabs were settled in the city and at least 9,000 Kurds were killed and a larger number were forcibly removed and sent to southern Iraq or the Kurdish controlled north^[4]. The Iraqi Property Claims Commission has an office in Khanaqin to deal with the land disputes this policy generated now that Kurds have been allowed to return to their homes.

In 9/6/2006 all the members of the city council of Khanaqin demanded that the city be separated from the control of the Diyala governorate and be allowed to join the Autonomous Kurdistan region. In December 2007 a referendum was scheduled to be held about including the city to the Kurdish controlled north. However, this referendum has been postponed for up to six months, and then indefinitely.

Oil fields

The Naft Khana oil field is capable of producing up to 16,000 barrels per day (2,500 m³/d) of sweet light crude from an oil reserve that is also being tapped by Iran. Repairs to the oil plant were completed in March 2006 which restored it to its pre-war condition. The main elements affected were the gas-oil separation facility and the wet crude facility (which separates oil from water). Trucks currently transport oil to the Al Daura refinery in Baghdad. A 20,000-barrel-per-day (3,200 m³/d) oil refinery has been approved for construction in Khanaqin and oil from Naft Khana will be sent there when it is complete.

Iraqi elections 2009

In the Iraqi governorate elections, 2009 the Kurdistan Alliance Bloc won more than 55000 votes leaving the rest of the opposition party's with less than 1000 together. This was probably because many Kurdish party's had invested heavily in the entire Diyala province and promised even more wealth once they were chosen.^[5].

Famous people from Xaneqin

• Leyla Qasim (among the first female peshmerga murdered by Baath regime).
• Azad Xaneqini (Kurdish singer).
• Jabar Farman (PUK politician)
• Ahmed Yousif Ali (Manager of education)
• Mela Baxtiar (major PUK politician) *Mela Baxtiar (major PUK politician)
• Emad Ahmed Saifoor (minister in the Kurdistan regional government).
• Sheikh Abdul-Wahab Talabani
• Sheikh Mustafa Talabani
• Ali Beg Issa
• Sheikh Rahim Talabani
• Abdul- Rahman Beg Jaff
• Saleh Rustem Khan
• Mamosta Aziz Pishtiwan
• Ali Khan
• Hasan Hayas singer

External links

• Iraq Image - Khanaqin Satellite Observation
• Khanaqin HomePage
• Khanaqin HomePage Deutschland
• Khanaqin from globalsecurity.org

References

Coordinates: 34°21′N 45°23′E / 34.35°N 45.383°E / 34.35; 45.383