Iraq invaded Kuwait with 120,000 troops and 700 tanks on this day in 1990

On this day, August 2, 1990, the Iraqi forces invaded the oil-rich Kuwait causing a stir among the Kuwaiti armed forces as the government officials, emir of Kuwait and many other key personalities fled to Saudi Arabia after Kuwait City was captured. Further, the Iraqi military forces annexed Kuwait and established a provincial government that exercised 20 percent control on the Kuwaiti oil reserves in Persian gulf, reports dated from then confirmed.  

Having gained independence from Britain in 1961, Kuwait was reportedly an incubator of the Arab nationalism and had delved into many Arabic initiatives such as the Palestinian cause. A leading Palestinian movement Fatah led by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), was organized in Kuwait by Yasser Arafat. While Kuwait was at the forefront of Arabic causes, on this day in 1990 all the hopes were shattered. Iraqis invaded Kuwait and took control of major oil-rich emirates. Although, later, they were driven out in Operation Desert Storm. Further, on this day, the United Nations Security Council unanimously denounced the invasion of Kuwait by the Saddam Hussain government. UN also appealed for Iraq’s immediate withdrawal from Kuwait, however, upon refusal of the armed forces to withdraw the troops, UN Security Council imposed global sanctions and trade embargo with Iraq.  

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Events of this day led to Operation Desert Storm

With a stronghold in the Kuwait region that deployed some 700,000 allied troops, Hussein was reluctant to pull out of Kuwait and had rather established the city as a province of Iraq, as per reports. The events of this day led to the Operation Desert Storm in the year 1991, January 16, when the US launched an offensive against Kuwait after the first fighter aircraft took off from a base in Saudi Arabia that led to an international coalition under the supreme command of US General Norman Schwarzkopf. The US-Iraq offensive involved forces from at least 32 nations, including Britain, Egypt, France, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.  

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(Image Credit: Pixabay/Representative Image)