37 Years On: 182,000 Souls, Still Waiting for Justice

By Kamaran Aziz

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Thirty-seven years ago, in one of the darkest chapters of modern Middle Eastern history, the Ba’athist regime of Iraq unleashed a brutal wave of genocidal violence against the Kurdish people. The third stage of the Anfal campaign, targeting the regions of Germian and Chamchamal, remains etched in Kurdish memory as one of the most horrific manifestations of Saddam Hussein’s campaign to erase Kurdish identity through extermination.

In the second half of the 1980s, the regime of Saddam Hussein, led on the ground by Ali Hassan al-Majeed—infamously known as “Chemical Ali”—carried out systematic acts of genocide, racial cleansing, and chemical warfare under the guise of counterinsurgency. Tens of thousands of Kurdish civilians, many of them women, children, and the elderly, were rounded up and buried alive in the unforgiving deserts of southern Iraq. Their only "crime" was their Kurdish ethnicity.

The third phase of the Anfal campaign, which took place between April 7 and April 20, 1988, was particularly devastating. The assault engulfed the entire Germian region, including Khurmal, Kalar, Kifri, Darbandikhan, Chamchamal, and their surrounding areas. Thousands of homes and villages were razed. Families vanished. Whole communities were wiped off the map. This stage alone accounted for one of the largest number of victims throughout the campaign’s duration.

The broader Anfal campaign, executed in eight calculated stages between 1986 and 1989, claimed the lives of over 182,000 Kurds. Backed by the First and Fifth Army Corps headquartered in Kirkuk and Erbil, the Republican Guard, and paramilitary units, the campaign reflected a militarized effort to annihilate a people. Sultan Hashim, Iraq’s Minister of Defense, was the primary field commander, coordinating with national defense forces and military intelligence agencies.

Chemical weapons were used indiscriminately. Thousands were displaced, leaving behind scorched villages and the haunting void of lives erased. The atrocities committed during Anfal—and the third stage in particular—remain a potent symbol of the suffering endured by the Kurdish nation.

Justice, though long delayed, eventually came in part. On June 24, 2007, the Iraqi High Criminal Court issued verdicts against several top officials responsible for Anfal. Ali Hassan al-Majeed, Sultan Hashim al-Tai, and Hussein Rashid al-Tikriti were sentenced to death. Saber Abdel-Aziz al-Douri and Farhan Mutlaq al-Jubouri received life sentences for their roles in orchestrating and implementing the genocidal campaign.

The stages of the Anfal were as follows:

- First Stage (February 9–23, 1988): Targeted Surdash subdistrict in Dukan.

- Second Stage (February 22–April 1, 1988): Targeted the Qaradagh region.

- Third Stage (April 7–20, 1988): Targeted Germian, including Chamchamal and surrounding areas.

- Fourth Stage (May 3–8, 1988): Aghjalar, Gope Tepe, Koya and others.

- Fifth to Seventh Stages (May 15–August 26, 1988): Targeted Rawanduz, Choman, Qandil, Koya, Rania, and beyond.

- Eighth Stage (August 25–September 6, 1988): Focused on the Badinan region, including Duhok, Akrê, Zakho, and Barzan.

The Anfal campaign was not only a crime against the Kurdish people but a crime against humanity. It laid bare the regime's willingness to deploy industrial-scale brutality to suppress identity and resistance. Entire generations were scarred; entire regions were emptied.

In his official statement on the 37th anniversary, President Masoud Barzani declared, “The best tribute to the martyrs of Anfal is for all of us to stand united in serving and defending our homeland, and in laying the foundations for a prosperous future for our people.” Barzani emphasized that unity and national purpose are the truest forms of honoring the victims and called upon the Iraqi federal government to officially recognize and take full constitutional and moral responsibility for the genocide.

He described the Anfal campaign as “one of the darkest stains of the last century,” involving forced displacement, chemical attacks, and the destruction of Kurdish cultural and economic infrastructure. Despite some perpetrators being tried and convicted, Barzani warned that the wounds remain open and justice remains incomplete. “The perpetrators fell into the dustbin of history, but the wounds and scars of this genocide and oppression still remain unhealed,” he said.

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani also marked the anniversary with a heartfelt tribute, emphasizing the gravity of the crimes and the continued pain felt by survivors. “We remember with deep respect the martyrs and victims of the Anfal genocide, committed against the land and people of Kurdistan,” he said, reiterating calls for full recognition, justice, and compensation from the federal government of Iraq.

“It is the duty of the federal government to provide just compensation—both material and moral—to the families of the Anfal victims and all others who suffered under the Ba'ath regime,” the Prime Minister added. He reaffirmed the KRG’s commitment to supporting survivors and preserving the memory of the Anfal martyrs.

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, marking the 37th anniversary of the Anfal campaign against Germian, described it as “one of the most brutal acts of genocide in history,” recalling the loss of over 182,000 Kurds. He urged the Iraqi federal government to implement the High Criminal Court’s ruling recognizing Anfal as genocide, and to support victims’ families through reconstruction, repatriation of remains, and justice. Nechirvan Barzani reaffirmed the Kurdistan Region’s commitment to gaining international recognition of the genocide and stressed that the Region’s progress is rooted in the sacrifices of its martyrs.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani also released a statement marking the anniversary, describing the Anfal as “heinous crimes” and “brutal massacres.” He emphasized national unity and the triumph of coexistence over hatred, saying, “Tyranny has been consigned to the darkness of history, while Iraqis continue—together—the journey of reconstruction and development.”

April 14 is officially marked each year in the Kurdistan Region as a national day of remembrance. Ceremonies, speeches, and commemorations are held across towns and cities to honor the victims and to call on Iraq and the world to recognize the Anfal genocide not only in words but through justice, accountability, and restitution.

Today, as the Kurdish people commemorate the 37th anniversary of the Anfal campaign against Germian and Chamchamal, they also reaffirm their resilience, their memory, and their demand for justice. The legacy of those lost lives continues to shape the moral and political identity of Kurdistan—a testimony to the unbreakable spirit of a people who refused to be erased.