Appendix 1: Text of the Armistice with Iraq
Whereas Iraqi representatives, who have temporarily assumed authority in BAGHDAD, have sought for an Armistice, and in view of the fact that His Highness the Amir Abdul Illah is on his way to the Capital to resume his legal functions, the General Officer Commanding British Forces has drawn up the following terms for an immediate armistice. The terms have been drawn up in harmony with the declared policy of His Britannic Majesty’s Government, which is to abstain from any infringement of Iraq Independence as formally laid down by Treaty, and to afford His Highness the Regent every assistance in re-establishing legal government and assisting the Iraq nation to resume its normal and prosperous existence. His Britannic Majesty’s Government have been led to adhere to these two bases of policy by the fact that they realise that the recent regrettable incidents in Iraq were not the outcome of any feeling of hostility between the British and Iraqi nations or of any divergence of interests between the two friendly peoples, but that these incidents were engineered solely by a small political party for their own private ends.
The Armistice terms drawn up by the General Officer Commanding British Forces are as follows:
(1) All hostilities between the two armies will cease forthwith.
(2) The Iraq Army will be permitted to retain all its arms, equipment and munitions, but all units of the Army must proceed forthwith to their normal peace-time stations.
(3) All British prisoners of war, either military, Royal Air Force or civilians, will be released forthwith.
(4) All enemy (German or Italian) service personnel will be interned, and their war material will be retained by the Iraq Government pending further instructions.
(5) The town and vicinity of Ramadi to be vacated by the Iraq Army by 1200 hrs June 1st.
(6) All facilities will be accorded immediately to the British military authorities for unimpeded through communication by rail, road and river.
(7) All Iraqi prisoners of war now in the hands of the British will be handed over to His Highness the Regent as soon as the terms in the above-mentioned paragraphs have been duly complied with.
(Sgd.) ISMAIL NAMIQ, Brigadier.
(Sgd.) GEORGE CLARK, Major-General.
(Sgd.) H. MUSRAT, Staff Colonel.
(Sgd.) J. H. D’ALBIAC, Air Vice-Marshal, A.O.C.
(Sgd.) MURUDDIN MAHMUD, Staff Lieut. Col.
31st May, 1941.