Top Kurdistan officials honor victims of chemical attacks on 33rd anniversary
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Senior officials in the Kurdistan Region delivered separate messages on Thursday to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the horrific chemical attacks on the autonomous Kurdish region’s territories.
“On April 16, 1987, the Ba’ath regime gas attacks on Balisan Valley, Sheikh Wasanan, and other villages started a long, murderous campaign against Kurdistan. Hundreds died,” Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani wrote on Twitter.
On 16 April 1987, the Baath regime gas attacks on Balisan Valley, Sheikh Wasanan and other villages started a long, murderous campaign against Kurdistan. Hundreds died. Thousands suffered appalling injuries. Many survivors have never fully recovered. We honour them all. pic.twitter.com/Rmqsv6Tkvi
— Masrour Barzani پابەندین# (@masrour_barzani) April 16, 2020
The Prime Minister also emphasized that the KRG would continue to serve the proud families of the martyrs in the Kurdistan Region.
During the chemical attack of April 16, 1987, “thousands suffered appalling injuries. Many survivors have never fully recovered. We honour them all,” the Prime Minister added.
The previous Ba’ath regime carried out mass killings against the Kurds between 1979 to 1988, destroying 4,500 villages in Kurdistan, leaving over 200,000 Kurdish victims.
The Ba’ath regime used violent, illegal, and military means at their disposal, which led to the massacre of the Fayli Kurds, the Barzanis, the chemical gassing of Halabja, and the eight stages of the Anfal operations from the areas of Garmiyan to Badinan.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani also commemorated the attacks in a message on his Twitter page.
“Today marks the 33rd anniversary of the beginning of the chemical attacks launched by the Ba’ath regime against civilians in Kurdistan,” President Barzani wrote. “We remember and salute the victims of the April 16, 1987, attacks in Sheikh Wasanan and Balisan Valley. They will forever remain in the hearts of the people of Kurdistan.”
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany