Oshnavieh County


Oshnavieh is a county in West Azerbaijan Province, in northwestern Iran. It lies west of Lake Urmia about 1,300 metres above sea level. The capital of the county is Oshnavieh. It lies on the border with the Kurdish provinces of Iraq. The county is surrounded by high mountains which remain cool even at the height of Summer. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 63,798, in 12,998 families.
The county is subdivided into two districts: the Central District and Nalus District. The county has two cities: Oshnavieh and Nalus. The population of Oshnavieh is Kurdish and most of them are Sunni Muslims. The antiquity of this city is more than 3000 years.
During Iran-Iraq war, Ba'athist Iraq regime bombarded some parts of Oshnavieh in West Azerbaijan Province by Chemical bombs; and about 2700 persons were injured as a result of that.