President of Kurdistan Region, Masoud Barzani today signed the act of recognition of Halabja as a new province after the decision have been made previously by Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish government.

Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish government signed a decision Thursday to turn the district of Halabja into a province.

President of Kurdistan Region has also signed the decision hours ago, as today mark the anniversary of a calamitous poison gas attack by Saddam Hussein in 1988.

The KRG has taken the decision on Halabja, as the 2005 Iraqi constitution now in force does not define procedures for new provinces. The KRG says that automatically grants authority to the regional government.

While Baghdad has declared no official position over the KRG's move, several officials have already dismissed the act as unconstitutional, arguing that only the central government has the power to declare new provinces.

On March 16, 1988 after two days of conventional artillery attacks, pervious Iraqi government’s planes dropped gas canisters on Halabja. The town and surrounding district were attacked with bombs, artillery fire, and chemical weapons, the last of which proved most devastating.

At least 5,000 people died as an immediate result of the chemical attack and it is estimated that a further 7,000 people were injured or suffered long term illness.

Most of the victims of the attack on the town of Halabja were Kurdish civilians.

Halabja formally became the fourth province, after Hawler (Erbil), Duhok, and Sulaimaniyah, of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

By Arina Moradi