SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Co-leader Bafel Talabani said Anfal campaign carried out by former Baath regime was a “big wound” of the Kurdistan Region’s people.
Former dictator Saddam Hussein’s Baath regime systematically killed 182,000 Kurds in the Anfal campaign, which began in 1986 over eight phases and reached its peak in 1988 with the Halabja chemical attack which killed 5,000 people and injured thousands of others.
Some of former Baath regime’s largest military operations against the Kurds took place on April 14, 1988 – which is now the official day of remembrance for those killed in the Anfal campaign.
“We are unhappily commemorating the anniversary of one of the saddest and most brutal incidents in history,” Talabani said in a statement. “We are commemorating destruction, missing, burring alive our sisters and brothers and the destruction of our villages.”
“Anfal is a big wound of our nation and will remain in our heart forever. We see with respects the complains and disagreements of the families of Anfal [victims] and survivors of this unforgettable crime,” he added.
Talabani stressed that he “sees himself as support and assistance of the families of Anfal martyrs and all martyrs of Kurdistan”.
“I ensure you our efforts continue to serve you and we consider this as our duty and we will take that responsibility,” he stated.
The PUK co-leader called on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to provide a “decent life” to the families of victims of the Anfal campaign.
Earlier on Wednesday, KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani called on the federal government to compensate families of Anfal campaign’s victims.
Thirty-three years after the Anfal campaign, Kurds say the memories are still painful but they are not yet ready to put them to rest.
The Iraqi Supreme Court has officially recognized the Anfal campaign as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, but the international community has yet to do so.
