ERBIL — Over three decades have passed since the chemical attack in Halabja by the Baath regime, yet chauvinistic thinking remains dominant in Iraq, said Kurdish prominent leader Masoud Barzani on the anniversary of the tragic attack.

“It is indeed shameful that even after the bombardment of Halabja with chemical weapons and the genocide against the people of Kurdistan, chauvinistic thinking remains dominant in Iraq,” Barzani wrote in an online statement.

He also emphasized that the rights of the people of Kurdistan continue to be denied in Iraq.

On 16th March 1988, the warplanes of the Baath regime rained chemical bombs on civilians in Halabja city of Kurdistan Region, killing more than 5,000 people instantly and leaving over 10,000 wounded.

Although 33 years have passed since the tragic chemical bombardment of Halabja, the consequences are still there with scores of Halabja children missing and hundreds suffering from their wounds.

Halabja chemical attack was one extended genocidal attack out of many other attacks against the Kurds including the killing of thousands of Kurdish Failies in the 1970s-80s, the slaughtering of thousands of Barzanis in 1983, and the Anfal campaign in 1988.

In 2003, following the capture of Baath regime’s elements and after years of trial, Ali Hassan al-Majid, who was Saddam Hussein’s cousin and a top general in his government, was found responsible for the Halabja chemical attack and consequently sentenced to death. The sentence was carried out on 25th January, 2010.

Due to the pandemic, Kurdistanis have not organized any large events on the 33rd anniversary of the Halabja Chemical attack. However, political leaders remind the people that unity in the face of difficulties remains the sole tribute they can pay to the victims and martyrs of Halabja.

BasNews