Kurdistan's President reaffirms efforts to recognize Anfal Against Barzanis as genocide

Shafaq News/ On Wednesday, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani reiterated his commitment to seeking international recognition for the Anfal campaign against the Barzanis as a genocide.

In a statement marking the 41st anniversary of the Anfal campaign, Barzani emphasized the need to acknowledge the atrocities committed against the Kurdish people. "We solemnly remember the eight thousand Barzani men, fathers, and elders who were forcibly disappeared between July 31 and mid-August 1983," Barzani said. "They were subjected to a brutal campaign by the Iraqi regime, which led to their execution in mass killings."

Barzani described the Anfal campaign as an attempt to "break the Kurdish people's spirit" but stated that it ultimately strengthened the Kurdish liberation movement. "The campaign aimed to crush our will for freedom, but it has become a dark stain on those who carried it out. It has only fueled our resolve to confront oppression with greater courage and determination."

Praising the resilience of the Barzani families, the Kurdish President said, "Despite the pain and adversity, the Barzani mothers and families stood firm. They managed to raise their orphaned children with dignity and pride, producing a dedicated and capable new generation…I salute all those who faced these hardships with dignity and did not surrender."

Moreover, he reaffirmed the Kurdistan Region Government's commitment to pursuing international recognition of the Anfal campaign and other Kurdish tragedies as ethnic genocide, calling for continued unity and cooperation among Kurdish political parties and compensation for the victims' families.

In 1983, an uprising against Saddam's regime erupted in the Kurdistan Region, leading to the Anfal campaign. Saddam appointed General Ali Hassan al-Majid al-Tikriti, the Secretary of the North in the Baath Party, to oversee the Anfal campaign. On March 16, 1988, al-Majid ordered chemical attacks on Halabja and surrounding villages, an action recognized as "genocide."

The campaign targeted the Barzan area, where 8,000 individuals were arrested, transported to the deserts of southern Iraq, and executed. Their bodies were buried in mass graves.

On May 3, 2011, the Iraqi High Criminal Court labeled the Anfal campaign as a "crime against humanity and genocide."

Following the fall of Saddam's regime in 2003, several key figures, including Saddam Hussein and Ali Hassan al-Majid, were tried and convicted in connection with the Anfal campaign, with some receiving death sentences.