#Mesopotamia, as it was known earlier, did not exist before the 20th century. Today’s #Iraq that was a part of the #Ottoman Empire was a land ruled by the Hashemite monarchy set up by the #British. In 1932, Iraq gained #independence and also joined the League of Nations in the same year.
After this, the political scenario in Iraq witnessed a series of events that led to the overthrow of the monarch and it also saw the emergence of #Saddam#Hussein. Saddam effectively ruled and even directed the nationalization of Iraq’s oil industry that has been a contentious marker of the Iraqi #politics, internal and external.
The entry of The United States to the dismay of the citizens although having deposed Saddam, it brought chaos in the country and region. The #Bush administration alleged that Iraq under Saddam possessed weapons of mass destruction.
The series of #conflicts have been felt directly by the common people of Iraq. Iraqi-Kurdish conflict, Persian Gulf War, Iraq wars and the civil wars are some conflicts to name. Majority of the Iraqis who were forced to flee Iraq have settled in refugee camps or informal settlements in the #Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. Estimates say there are around 260,000 who have fled Iraq and another 3 million who have been displaced within the country.