Kurdish government urges Iraq to compensate families of Halabja Massacre victims
Marking the 30th anniversary of the Halabja Massacre, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Friday called on the Iraqi federal government to compensate the families of victims.
People of the Kurdistan Region commemorated the anniversary of the Halabja Massacre, which killed 5,000 people and injured 10,000 more in a chemical attack launched on March 16, 1988, by the former Iraqi regime.
In a statement, the Council of KRG Ministers expressed their condolences to the families of the victims, condemning the ‘inhumane crime’ that was committed in front of the eyes of the world, and criticizing the international community for choosing to remain silent.
“It is a crime that showed the world the oppression of the people of Kurdistan and the barbarism of Baghdad’s authority at the time,” the statement read.
“On this miserable day, we affirm that we will do the best we can for Halabja. We, once again, ask the state of Iraq to follow through on its duties in compensating the victims and rebuilding Halabja,” the statement continued.
The council also called on the international community to prevent the reoccurrence of such atrocities anywhere around the world.
Halabja is a Kurdish city located 215 kilometers southeast of Erbil, and 10 kilometers from Iran’s border. The town was officially recognized as the newest province in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq at the end of 2013.
