1935–1936 Iraqi Shia revolts

The 1935 Rumaytha and Diwaniyya revolt or the 1935–1936 Iraqi Shia revolts consisted of a series of Shia tribal uprisings in the mid-Euphrates region against the Sunni dominated authority of the Kingdom of Iraq. In each revolt, the response of the Iraqi government was to use military force to crush the rebellions with little mercy. The administrative task of this forceful disciplining of the Shi'a tribes fell to General Bakr Sidqi

The Shia tribes of the mid-Euphrates region saw themselves increasingly under-represented in the Sunni-dominated Iraqi government, which further deteriorated with the exclusion of key Shia sheikhs from the Iraqi parliament in 1934 elections. As a result, unrest broke out in the mid-Euphrates in January 1935. Following unsuccessful attempts by Shia leaders to achieve relief of certain grievances in return for reconciliation, the rebellion spread to the region of Diwaniyya, led by two powerful sheikhs. The rebellion, however, was pacified within a single week, as internal Iraqi politics allowed the resignation of the Iraqi government.

Following the arrest of one of the more prominent clerical followers of Ayatollah Khashif al-Ghita in May, Shia uprisings again spread in the mid-Euphrates. Martial law was declared in Diwaniyya by Bakr Sidqi and the full power of the Iraqi airforce and army was deployed against the Shia tribesmen. By the end of May they were defeated and the revolt over. However, this didn't end the uprisings, as other incidents followed from time to time. Dozens of Shia tribesmen were killed over the course of these events.

The 1935 Shia uprisings posed no direct threat to the central Iraqi rule, since the tribes were too fragmented. Nevertheless, in 1936 the Shia tribes rose up again, killing 90 Iraqi troops and downing two aircraft. Sidqi's troops quickly prevailed, exacting a harsh punishment in destroying homes, imprisoning civilians and conducting public hangings of scores of men.