The unforgettable pain of the people of Halabja

[Anthea]

Kin of Anfal victims struggle

in unlivable housing

The Mirawa housing project, located in Erbil’s northeastern Shaqlawa district, was completed in 2015 to house the families of Anfal victims. However, residents say it has become unlivable, with most of them leaving due to the lack of essential infrastructure

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), during the 1988 Anfal campaign, scores of villages in Shaqlawa’s Harir subdistrict were destroyed with many families expelled from their homes.

Anfal was an eight-phase military campaign carried out by the regime of toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein between February and September 1988, to crush the Kurdish resistance.

The wide-scale operations claimed the lives of an estimated 100,000 to 182,000 Kurds who were mostly killed in chemical attacks, mass executions, and ravaging of villages. By the end of the Anfal campaign, around 4,500 villages were destroyed

“All of our family passed away and they did not even get to live happily in these houses,” Salar Mohammed, the son of an Anfal victim, told Rudaw.

Mohammed said they have appealed to all relevant authorities to extend services to the project, but their demands have fallen on deaf ears.

Each house sits on a 200-square-meter plot, but has no access to water or paved roads, prompting most residents to leave. A few remain, relying on external pipes they set up to have water delivered from hundreds of meters away.

“We urge them authorities to extend services, pave the roads, and provide us with water,” said Farman Said, another houseowner in the project. “We reached out to the Erbil governorate, the Shaqlawa mayor and the Harir subdistrict administration. They keep saying they will address our demands, but nothing has come to fruition yet.”

The houses are in shambles, with residents saying fixtures are being stolen.

“There’s no plaster left, no doors, windows, fans, or water heaters. There’s nothing left besides the walls,” said Mahir Ali, another kin to Anfal victims.

Mohammed Sulaiman, another family member of Anfal victims, echoed Ali’s claims, urging authorities to ensure the residents of the Mirawa housing project are “looked after for the sake of our martyrs and the Anfal victims.”

According to the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs, their role was limited to constructing the houses, adding that providing services such as water and roads is the responsibility of the Erbil governorate and Shaqlawa’s local administration

Head of the ministry’s martyrs’ services directorate, Ahmad Mam Rasul, told Rudaw that necessary procedures have been completed and requests for services have been sent to the KRG.

According to the Shaqlawa's district administration, around 803 million Iraqi dinars (about $550,000) are needed to provide the necessary services to the project. However, no funds have been allocated or spent so far.

Anfal remains a painful moment and turning point in Kurdish history, symbolizing the brutal repression endured under Saddam Hussein’s regime, but also their continued struggle for justice.

The memories of men and boys rounded up, tied together, shot, and buried in mass graves, as well as the horrific conditions faced by women and children in camps, continue to haunt the collective memory of the Kurdish people

In 2008, Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court recognized Anfal as a crime against humanity. However, years later, little has been done to assist the survivors or families of the victims.

It is important to note that Anfal was just one part of a broader campaign of genocide against the Kurds that spanned several decades. This includes the forced demographic changes in Kirkuk in the 1960s, the disappearance of Faili Kurds in the 1970s, and the infamous chemical attack on Halabja in 1988.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/09042025

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Iraqi parliament to vote Monday

on Halabja province status

A vote on elevating Halabja to provincial status is the first item on the agenda for Monday’s parliamentary session, following a collective decision by Kurdish factions to boycott the legislature until the long-delayed subject was included

The agenda lists the vote as top priority

In December 2013, the Iraqi Council of Ministers approved a proposal to make Halabja the country’s 19th province, separating it from Sulaimani province. However, political tensions between Erbil and Baghdad, as well as disputes among Sunni and Shiite lawmakers, have delayed the bill’s passage for over a decade.

Kurdish politicians issued an ultimatum to their fellow members of parliament

“Unless voting on Halabja’s governorate status is included in the agenda, we will not take part in any session,” Chro Hamasharif, a Kurdish MP, told Rudaw on Thursday.

She explained that the Kurdish factions are “unified” on this matter and they will not accept “tying the Halabja draft law to any other draft law.”

The boycott was announced after the parliament postponed a vote on Halabja in March.

“No other projects should accompany the Halabja issue,” Shakhawan Abdullah, deputy speaker of the Parliament, said at the time. He added that future sessions would seek to separate the Halabja bill from other contentious legislation - particularly a disputed draft law concerning the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) that has sparked divisions between Sunni and Shiite blocs.

The Halabja bill has already passed the two mandatory readings under Iraqi parliamentary procedure and is awaiting a final vote

The Kurdistan Region’s Council of Ministers declared Halabja a province in 2014, making it the Region’s fourth. Four years later, the Iraqi Ministry of Interior formally recognized Halabja’s provincial status, even though parliament has yet to ratify it.

Halabja remains a symbol of Kurdish suffering and resilience. On March 16, 1988, near the end of the Iran-Iraq War, forces of Saddam Hussein attacked the city with chemical weapons. The massacre killed at least 5,000 people - mostly women and children - and injured thousands more.

The chemical assault was part of the Baath regime’s broader Anfal campaign in which more than 182,000 Kurds were killed. It remains one of the darkest chapters in modern Iraqi history.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/110420254

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Iraqi Parliament Approves
Halabja as 19th Province

In a historic move, the Iraqi Parliament on Monday officially voted to recognise Halabja as Iraq’s 19th province, marking a significant milestone for the Kurdish region and honoring decades of struggle and sacrifice by its people

The decision came during a special session of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, where lawmakers voted on a six-article draft law to elevate Halabja’s administrative status.

Despite opposition from some nationalist members of parliament, the bill passed with strong backing from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and other Kurdish factions.

“After much anticipation and direct efforts by our leader President Barzani, along with persistent requests and efforts from our party faction and support from other Kurdish factions, we are delighted that the draft law for recognizing Halabja as a governorate has been approved,” said Meriwan Qarani, Deputy Head of the KDP faction, in remarks to BasNews

Qarani highlighted the historical significance of Halabja, stating that its people endured immense suffering that remains etched in Kurdish and global memory.

“Protecting Halabja is a small gesture compared to the immense sacrifices made by its people,” he added.

Halabja is most widely known for the 1988 chemical attack by Saddam Hussein’s regime, which killed thousands of civilians during the closing stages of the Iran-Iraq War.

The atrocity, often compared to Hiroshima for its scale and horror, has become a symbol of Kurdish suffering and resilience.

With this decision, Halabja now officially serves as the capital of the newly recognized Halabja Governorate and continues to play a vital role in Kurdish identity and the broader struggle for justice and recognition.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/880715

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Barzani Calls Halabja Recognition
a Symbolic Kurdish Victory

Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani, president of the KDP, on Sunday welcomed the Iraqi Parliament’s decision to officially recognize Halabja as a province, calling it a “significant achievement” and a symbol of unity and justice for the Kurdish people

The Iraqi parliament’s vote earlier in the day marked the culmination of a years-long effort to grant official provincial status to Halabja, which was the target of a 1988 chemical attack by Saddam Hussein’s regime that killed thousands. The recognition is seen by many as both a practical step and a powerful gesture of acknowledgment of the Kurdish people’s suffering and resilience.

In a statement issued after the vote, Barzani expressed deep gratitude to the Iraqi Council of Representatives, its presidency, and all parliamentary blocs—especially the Kurdish factions—for their unified efforts in passing the resolution.

“This achievement was made possible through cooperation and unity,” Barzani said. “I congratulate the people of Halabja and all of Kurdistan on this historic occasion, and I deeply value the role of everyone who worked tirelessly to reach this outcome.”

Barzani added that he hopes the move will be the beginning of greater service, reconstruction, and healing for Halabja, a city that endured one of the worst chemical attacks in modern history. He also paid tribute to the “righteous martyrs of Halabja and all of Kurdistan,” sending “thousands of greetings to their souls.”

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/880732

[Anthea]

Barzani Urges Kurdish Unity on
Anniversary of Anfal Genocide

Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani on Monday marked the 37th anniversary of the Anfal genocide with a call for unity among the Kurdish people and renewed demands for official recognition of the atrocities committed by Saddam Hussein’s regime

In a commemorative message, the President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said that the greatest tribute to the victims of Anfal is for all Kurds to come together in building a prosperous and secure future for their homeland

Barzani stressed the importance of solidarity, urging Kurds to continue working toward the development of their nation while preserving the memory of those who perished.

“The Iraqi state must officially recognize the Anfal genocide and the broader crimes inflicted upon the Kurdish people,” he said.

These crimes included chemical attacks, forced Arabization, mass displacement, economic devastation, and the destruction of thousands of villages.

Barzani noted that while history has condemned the perpetrators, the pain and trauma of the genocide remain deeply rooted.

He emphasized the need to prevent any resurgence of chauvinistic or oppressive policies targeting the people of Kurdistan.

Paying tribute to the victims and their families, Barzani reaffirmed his commitment to securing a better future for the Kurdish people through unity and cooperation.

The Anfal campaign, carried out by the Ba’athist regime in the late 1980s, led to the disappearance and killing of an estimated 180,000 Kurds

The campaign is widely recognized as genocide and remains a pivotal chapter in Kurdish history and identity.

Despite acknowledgement from the international community, Kurdish leaders continue to call for greater recognition and accountability for the atrocities.

The Kurdistan Region maintains efforts to document and commemorate the crimes, while seeking international support and engagement.

Barzani concluded his message by highlighting the Kurdistan Region’s commitment to building strong ties with regional and international partners, and ensuring that the lessons of Anfal are never forgotten.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/880675

[Anthea]

Anfal genocide survivors demand
return of loved ones’ remains

Survivors of the Anfal genocide campaign and their families on Monday marked its 37th anniversary by calling on authorities to return the remains of their loved ones and provide long-overdue compensation, as commemorations were held across the Kurdistan Region

“My mother and father, four sisters, and four brothers are all victims of Anfal. When I come to these graves, I do not know which one belongs to my brothers and sisters. I feel like they belong to my brothers and sisters. Prime Minister, try to bring us back the remains. We do not want any wealth. No wealth will benefit us,” Siamand Mahmoud, from the Kurdistan Region’s Garmiyan administration, told Rudaw.

He is the sole survivor of a family of eleven. Now a father of six, he named each of his children after his lost siblings

Thousands across the Kurdistan Region commemorated the Anfal campaign on Monday, calling for justice, compensation, and the return of remains still buried in desert mass graves in southern Iraq.

The Anfal campaign, named after the eighth surah of the Quran, was launched by Saddam Hussein’s regime in 1988 and resulted in the deaths of around 182,000 Kurds. The Garmiyan phase of the campaign began on April 14, and that date is now observed annually as the genocide’s anniversary.

From Sulaimani’s western Chamchamal district, two sisters remembered nearly 20 relatives lost to Anfal and spoke of raising ten children alone, never knowing what happened to their husbands.

“The pictures burn us on the inside. We burned when we saw those pictures. Four of my brothers are Anfal victims. We want the jash [traitors] to be handed to the courts, to be imprisoned forever and never be released,” added her sister, Hanifa Aziz

“We, the families of the Anfal victims, have no one, no one to take care of us,” said Sara Ahmad, another survivor from Garmiyan.

She and her two sisters are the only surviving members from her family, as all others were killed in Anfal. Her husband, too, is the sole survivor of his family.

“A night before Eid [al-Fitr], I dreamed of my father. I asked him why he did not visit us or ask about us. He said, ‘Of course I asked about you. I spend every day and night with much difficulty. I am very unwell. I am in a place that I cannot leave,’” she said.

“I have one request, for my voice to Mr. Masoud Barzani so that I can see him to tell him about the pain in my heart because he understands me and he has the same woes as us,” she added

Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Barzani issued a statement on Monday commemorating the campaign and called on Baghdad to fulfill its legal and moral responsibilities.

“The criminals ended up with the dustbin of history, but the wounds and tragedies of genocide and injustice are still sunken and have not yet been depleted. The Iraqi state must perform its duty to compensate for the crime of the Anfal and the genocide that was committed against our people,” he said.

Ceremonies were held in Erbil, Sulaimani, Kirkuk, Halabja, Chamchamal, and Garmiyan, with attendees observing a minute of silence for the victims.

The Iraqi parliament recognized Anfal as genocide in 2008. Several officials responsible for the campaign were sentenced to death, including Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as “Chemical Ali,” who was executed in 2011.

But for survivors, the lack of reparations and failure to recover the victims’ remains remain the most painful reminders of a tragedy that still shapes their lives.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/15042025

[Anthea]

Kurdish youth must not forget Anfal

Two Swedish members of parliament from the Social Democrats (S) political party, Ola Moller and Kadir Kasirga, on Monday attended a memorial ceremony for victims of the Anfal campaign in Duhok province, north of the Kurdistan Region

Speaking to Rudaw, MP Moller stated, “For us in Sweden, it is both important and an honor to be here and attend this memorial because the Anfal campaign stands as one of the gravest examples of atrocities committed against people. A genocide like that should never have been allowed to happen.”

The Anfal campaign was launched in the late 1980s by toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Carried out in eight phases across the Kurdistan Region, it claimed the lives of more than 182,000 Kurds and destroyed over 4,500 villages.

One of Anfal’s most infamous attacks took place on March 16, 1988, near the end of the eight-year Iran-Iraq War, when the Saddam Hussein-led Baath regime bombed the city of Halabja with chemical weapons. The gruesome attack killed at least 5,000 people - mostly women and children - and injured thousands more.

Moller emphasized that Stockholm has dedicated “a memorial day for the chemical attack on Halabja every year, where we commemorate and remember the victims for this terrible, terrible campaign.”

The Swedish parliamentarian added, “We are very very honored to be here,” stressing that “it is very crucial for us to never forget and to say never again [will we allow such atrocities to take place], though sadly, the world continues to fail, over and over again in preventing them.”

Moller reaffirmed that his country and the Social Democrats party he is affiliated with “will always stand with victims against tyrants who carry out such terrible attacks.”

For his part, MP Kasirga, known for his advocacy on Kurdish and human rights issues, told Rudaw that “it is very important that the new generation which is growing up in Kurdistan are taught through their education not to forget the Halabja chemical attack."

The Anfal campaign remains a painful chapter and turning point in Kurdish history, symbolizing both the brutal repression endured under Saddam Hussein’s Baath regime and the ongoing struggle for justice.

The memories of men and boys rounded up, tied together, shot, and buried in mass graves, as well as the horrific conditions faced by women and children in camps, remain etched in the Kurdish collective memory.

Although Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court recognized Anfal as a crime against humanity in 2008, little has been done since to support the survivors or families of the victims.

It is important to note that Anfal was just one part of a broader campaign of genocide against the Kurdish people that spanned decades. This included the forced demographic changes in Kirkuk during the 1960s, the disappearance of Faili Kurds in the 1970s, and the infamous chemical attack on Halabja in 1988

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/140420253

[Anthea]

US, UK Welcome Halabja Province

The US and UK consulates in Erbil have welcomed Iraq’s historic decision to recognize Halabja as a province, describing the move as a positive step toward justice and development for the Kurdistan Region

In separate statements posted on X on Tuesday, both diplomatic missions congratulated the people of Halabja and reaffirmed their support for the city following the Iraqi Parliament’s vote a day earlier.

“We are encouraged by the Iraqi parliament's vote on the bill to recognize #Halabja as a province and we look forward to continued discussions on U.S educational and economic engagement in Halabja,” the US Consulate General in Erbil wrote. “Congratulations to the residents of Halabja.”

Echoing the sentiment, the UK Consulate General stated: “The Iraqi Parliament's decision to recognise Halabja as a province marks an important and positive step. @ukinerbil warmly congratulates the people of Halabja and the Kurdistan Region.”

The Iraqi Council of Representatives passed the long-awaited bill during a special session on Monday, officially granting Halabja governorate status after years of advocacy and political negotiations. The measure was strongly backed by Kurdish factions, including the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), despite resistance from some lawmakers.

Halabja, located in the Kurdistan Region, is known globally for the 1988 chemical attack carried out by Saddam Hussein’s regime, which killed thousands of civilians. The atrocity, often compared to Hiroshima in its scale, has come to symbolize the suffering and resilience of the Kurdish people.

The recognition of Halabja as a province is widely seen as both a symbolic act of justice and a practical advancement for a city long marginalized despite its historical significance. The international response underscores growing global support for Halabja’s development and continued healing.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/880846

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Remains of 1,700 Kurds
recovered over the past 17 years

Iraqi authorities have unearthed 31 mass graves including the remains of 1,700 Kurdish individuals and collected 2,007 blood samples from potential relatives over the past 17 years, an official from the state-run Martyrs Foundation told Rudaw on Monday

Head of the Mass Graves Exhumation Team, Ahmed Qusay, stated that “since the beginning of 2008, around 31 mass graves have been excavated,” containing remains of Kurdish individuals, and that “the remains of 1,700 martyrs have been exhumed.”

He explained that the exhumation efforts are being led by Iraq’s Martyrs Foundation and the Department of Forensic Medicine. However, Qusay attributed “delays in the grave excavation process” to the “lack of funding, specialized staff in this field, and the large number of mass graves.”

Much of these mass graves are linked to the Anfal campaign, a brutal eight-phase military launched by the Baath regime - led by toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein - in the late 1980s. The campaign, carried out across the Kurdistan Region, claimed the lives of more than 182,000 Kurds

The head of the mass graves exhumation team told Rudaw on Monday that blood samples from families of Anfal victims were collected last year to assist in identifying remains exhumed from mass graves.

Qusay elaborated that to date, forms have been submitted for 2,500 missing persons and 2,007 blood samples have been collected. He added however that “among the issues obstructing the collection of blood samples is that many victims’ kin have either passed away or emigrated overseas.”

On Sunday, families of Anfal victims gathered in Baghdad, calling on authorities to expedite the exhumation of their loved ones believed to be buried in unmarked graves in southern Iraq, many of which have yet to be touched.

Nearly four decades after the Anfal campaign, dozens of mass graves remain undiscovered or unexcavated. Efforts to locate and uncover them continue. The most recent discovery was made on December 22, when satellite imagery revealed several mass graves in Muthanna province. It is believed that around 150 Kurdish women and children were executed and buried at the site

In 2008, Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court officially recognized the Anfal campaign as a crime against humanity. Yet 17 years later, survivors and victims’ families say they have received little justice or support.

Despite its brutality, the Anfal campaign was just one episode in a broader pattern of persecution and genocide by the toppled Baath regime against Kurds. This history also includes the forced demographic changes in Kirkuk during the 1960s, the disappearance of Faili Kurds in the 1970s, and the chemical weapons attack on Halabja in 1988.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/210420252

[Anthea]

They Buried Us in the Desert

Now We Return for Justice

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – In a powerful display of memory and resistance, over 200 family members of Anfal victims from Garmiyan, Kirkuk, Chamchamal, Koya, and other regions gathered in Baghdad and Nugra Salman this week, demanding justice, compensation, and the return of their loved ones’ remains

On Sunday, April 20, 2025, the families assembled outside the Iraqi Martyrs' Institution in Baghdad, voicing urgent demands for long-denied rights. Among them were calls for the exhumation and repatriation of Anfal victims’ remains to the Kurdistan Region, financial compensation, and equal treatment in pensions and benefits with the families of other Iraqi martyrs.

Speaking to Kurdistan24, Aso Hamid, an Anfal survivor, recounted the emotional impact of the visit. “Yesterday, Sunday, we went to the Martyrs' Institution in Baghdad, numbering more than 200 people. Families of Anfal victims from Garmiyan, Kirkuk, Chamchamal, Koya and several other places were together. In front of the Martyrs' Institution in Baghdad, we demanded the exhumation of Anfal remains and the return of our remains to the Kurdistan Region. We also demanded that the salaries of families of martyrs and Anfal victims be made equal to those of Iraqi martyrs, as well as compensation for families of Anfal victims.”

On Monday morning, the delegation visited Nugra Salman prison in the southern desert of Iraq—an infamous site of Kurdish suffering during the Anfal campaign. Hamid, who was once imprisoned there as a child, described the return as deeply traumatic. “I spent part of my childhood in that prison, and when I visited that place again, it sent shivers down my spine.”

According to the Kurdistan Memory Programme, Nugra Salman became one of the most feared and secretive sites of incarceration during the Anfal campaign. More than 3,000 women, children, and elderly civilians were transported in military convoys from the north to this remote desert prison, located in Muthanna Governorate. Families were confined in dark, windowless rooms under unbearable heat, where malnutrition, dehydration, and untreated disease were rampant. Survivors recall children dying daily from dysentery and thirst. Guards refused to acknowledge inmates’ existence, and no judicial process was afforded to any prisoner.

Personal testimonies from survivors collected by the Kurdistan Memory Programme reveal unimaginable suffering. Fatima Khursheed Mahmoud described the constant threat of death, recalling how her father and brother were taken away by security forces and never returned. Miriam Rashid Mahmoud, who was held at Nugra Salman, remembered being told by guards that “the wolf took your men,” an ominous euphemism for execution. Women were often forced to bury their children with their own hands, as Aisha Ismael Ali recounted after losing five of her six children in the chemical attack on Goptapa.

Other testimonies highlight the deception and cruelty of Iraqi soldiers. Mahroob Mohammed Nawkhas was told her family was being relocated, only to be imprisoned instead. Osman Ali Aziz and Abdulrahman Abdullah Salih recalled the annihilation of entire villages in the Lesser Zab valley and the systematic targeting of communities that supported the Kurdish resistance. The absence of judicial records and the regime’s denial of basic dignity made Nugra Salman a site not just of incarceration, but erasure

The visit underscored both the physical and psychological scars left by the Anfal genocide, a systematic campaign of extermination conducted by Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime in 1988. In a series of eight phases spanning multiple offensives, the regime targeted Kurdish civilians, destroying over 4,000 villages and arresting approximately 182,000 individuals—many of whom were later buried alive in mass graves across Iraq’s central and southern deserts.

The campaign began in February 1988 in the Jafayati Valley and concluded with the final stage in Badinan between August 26 and September 6 of the same year. The brutality extended beyond the mass killings to include widespread looting, forced displacement, and destruction of cultural heritage.

Their protest was not merely about memory, but about the enduring inaction and silence of the Iraqi state. “We want to know how long the Iraqi government will continue to ignore the decisions of the High Criminal Court,” one relative of an Anfal victim said. “How long will they avoid apologizing and compensating us?” These words echoed a sentiment of intergenerational frustration and loss—remains still unreturned, justice still denied.

Nugra Salman, one of the regime's most notorious detention centers, is situated in Iraq’s southern Muthanna Governorate, near the village of Salman, roughly 1.5 kilometers from the Saudi border. Built in 1930 during the monarchy, the prison has a long, dark history and was later repurposed by the regimes of Abdul Karim Qasim and Saddam Hussein to detain political prisoners, including Kurdish civilians during the Anfal operations

As noted by the Kurdistan Memory Programme, the site remains a haunting testament to the regime's deliberate effort to annihilate Kurdish identity. Its continued neglect by state authorities reflects not only historical denial but also the lack of post-genocide reconciliation efforts.

The families’ demands highlight a painful chapter of modern Iraqi history that remains unresolved. Despite repeated recognition of the Anfal campaign as an act of genocide, survivors and their families continue to await full justice, state recognition, and reparation. The sharp contrast between the treatment of Anfal victims and other categories of Iraqi martyrs only deepens their grievance.

Their presence in Baghdad, and their journey into the scorched sands of Nugra Salman, signal not only remembrance—but a call to conscience. For many Kurds, these sites are not just relics of the past, but living symbols of suffering, struggle, and the unyielding demand for truth and dignity.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/83 ... l-families