Shafaq News / Masrour Barzani, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, issued a statement today on the anniversary of the Anfal campaigns, which were committed by the former Iraqi regime against the Kurdish people 35 years ago. He called on the Iraqi government to fulfill its constitutional obligations to compensate the families of the martyrs and victims.

"In our hearts filled with sorrow and grief, we remember today the martyrs and victims of the infamous Anfal campaigns, which constitute one of the most heinous acts of genocide committed by the former Ba'athist Iraqi regime against the Kurds and Kurdistanis over multiple stages, where thousands of innocent civilians were forcibly taken from various regions of Kurdistan and its villages, exiled and buried alive in the deserts of central and southern Iraq, and many are still among the missing, and their fate remains unknown," said Barzani in his statement.

"The Anfal campaign represented a brutal annihilation not only of the Kurdistan people but also of all human and moral values. Unfortunately, the far-reaching consequences of this crime, which still causes pain to humanity, persist, and its wounds have not yet healed," he added.

Barzani further urged the Iraqi government to fulfill its ethical and constitutional responsibilities and compensate those who were harmed and the families of those who were unjustly treated at the hands of the former Iraqi regime. He also called on the Kurdistan Regional Government to provide the best services to the families of the honorable martyrs.

"On the painful anniversary of the Anfal campaigns, we pay tribute to the martyrs of Kurdistan and its victims, and their memory will remain immortal in our hearts," concluded Barzani.

According to Human Rights Watch, up to 100,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed in systematic ethnic cleansing campaigns, which included the use of chemical weapons. Kurdish sources estimate the number of victims to be over 180,000.

During the trial of Saddam Hussein and his regime's officials, the Iraqi prosecution declared the Anfal campaign as a "genocide," which led to the killing of 100,000 Kurds, the destruction of thousands of villages, and the displacement of their inhabitants. However, Saddam Hussein, who topped the list of defendants in that case, claimed that it was merely a necessary operation to confront the insurgency during the war with Iran.