Kirkuk, Kurdistan Region – On Monday, the Iraqi army executed a controversial operation, raiding and occupying a historically significant military barracks in the disputed Kurdish province of Kirkuk. The building, located in the village of Topzawa, has long served as a symbol of the atrocities committed during Saddam Hussein's brutal Anfal and genocide campaigns against ethnic Kurds.

The military barracks, bearing witness to the horrors of the past, has now become the center of attention and protest for villagers in Topzawa, who are demanding that the Iraqi authorities respect the historical significance of the site.

During the era of Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime, thousands of ethnic Kurds from Kirkuk province were ruthlessly rounded up and transported to this very barracks before being transferred to prison cells in the Samawah deserts. There, they were subjected to inhumane torture and, in many cases, executed.

Local residents of Topzawa had previously appealed to Kirkuk provincial authorities to preserve this site as an essential part of their history and turn it into a museum, preserving the memory of Saddam Hussein's oppression and discrimination against the Kurdish population.

The occupation of this historic barracks comes at a particularly poignant time, coinciding with the sixth anniversary of the notorious October 16th, 2017 event. This event saw elements within the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) collaborating with Iran-backed Hashd al-Shaabi militias, leading to the controversial handover of Kirkuk province to these militia groups against the will of its people.

The atrocities committed during the Anfal campaign in Kurdistan still haunt the collective memory of the Kurdish population. The campaign involved the brutal kidnapping, disappearance, and mass murder of thousands of innocent Kurds under Saddam Hussein's regime. It also resulted in the displacement of tens of thousands and the destruction of numerous villages, as prohibited weapons of mass destruction were unleashed against ethnic Kurds.

The suffering endured by the Kurdish population under Saddam Hussein was marked by several genocidal campaigns. One of the darkest moments was the infamous Halabja chemical attack, which claimed the lives of more than 5,000 innocent people. The 1980s saw the abduction and execution of thousands of Kurds, including 8,000 Barzanis. The Anfal campaign itself was responsible for the deaths of 182,000 Kurds, making it a deeply somber chapter in the history of the country.

The Iraqi army's occupation of the Topzawa barracks underscores the ongoing need to preserve the historical memory of these atrocities and the lasting scars they have left on the Kurdish people. It also rekindles the debate on how to address this painful past while ensuring a brighter and more inclusive future for the people of Kirkuk.