Kuwait–Najd War
| Kuwait-Najd War | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Unification of Saudi Arabia | |||||||
|
|||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Ikhwan (Mutair tribe)
| .svg.png){kind=small} Kuwaiti people
|
||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Faisal al-Dwaish
| Sheikh Salim Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah
|
||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 200 Kuwaitis killed[1] | |||||||
| |||||
| Part of a series on the |
| History of Kuwait |
|---|
 |
| Ancient Kuwait |
| Ubaid period |
| Dilmun |
| Characene |
| Mesopotamia |
| Early Kuwait |
|
| Independence |
|
| See also |
 Kuwait portal |
The Kuwait-Najd War erupted in the Aftermath of World War I. The war occurred because Ibn Saud wanted to annex Kuwait. Ibn Saud insisted that most of Kuwait's territory belonged to Saudi Arabia. The sharpened conflict between Kuwait and Najd led to the death of hundreds of Kuwaitis. The war resulted in sporadic border clashes throughout 1919-1920. Ibn Saud's Ikhwan soldiers (Mutair) routinely raided Kuwait.
As a result of the Kuwait-Najd War, the Uqair agreement was signed. Kuwait had no representative at the Uqair agreement, thus consequently lost more than 2/3'rds of its territory. Relations between Kuwait and Najd remained hostile after the Uqair agreement because Kuwait lost most of its original territory. Ibn Saud imposed a strict trade blockade against Kuwait, which partly resulted in the collapse of Kuwait's economy.
History
In 1913 the emir of Riyadh captured the Sanjak of Hasa from the Ottomans to become the new neighbor to the Emirate of Kuwait. According to the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913, Kuwait's border extended south to Manifa (about 200 km from Kuwait city), but the Emirate of Najad didn't recognize the Convention since the Ottoman province annexed to Najd.
In 1919 Sheikh Salim Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah intended to build a commercial city in the southern borders of Kuwait. This caused a diplomatic crisis with Najd, but Britain intervened, discouraging Sheikh Salim.
In 1920, the Ikhwan started to build a town for them in southern borders of Kuwait, which angered Sheikh Salim. He asked Britain to stop them from building in his lands, but the High Commissioner in Baghdad overlooked the request. Sheikh Salim then sent 300 men to intimidate the Ikhwan; however this led to a bloody battle and the defeat of Kuwaiti forces.
Sheikh Salim asked help from emirate of Hail the enemies of emirate of Najd which sent troops to aid Kuwait, Sheikh Salim again sent all the troops to attack the Ikhwan, however they were ready to the battle so the Kuwaiti troops did not attack and returned to Jahra. Ikhwan forces (4,000 men) tracked them and raided Jahra; 40 km from the capital battles occurred in which the Kuwaitis were mostly victorious. Some 200 people were killed in the battle.[1] In response, the British deployed gunboats, armored cars and aircraft. Eventually, the Bedouins withdrew.
Aftermath
The 1922 Treaty of Uqair set Kuwait's border with Saudis and also established the Saudi-Kuwaiti neutral zone, an area of about 5,180 km² adjoining Kuwait's southern border.