- FILE PHOTO 17JAN91 - Kuwaiti exiles read a local newspaper announcing the start of the Gulf War in Dubai in this January 17, 1991 file photo. Thousands of Kuwaitis fled their country in 1990 after it was invaded by Iraqi forces. January 17, 2001 is the 10th anniversary of the commencement of the coalition's Desert Storm air and bombing campaign to free Kuwait from Iraqi occupation.