PM Barzani condemns genocide of Feyli Kurds
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Tuesday condemned the genocide committed against Feyli Kurds in a tweet.
“The previous regime in Iraq exiled and massacred thousands of Feyli Kurds, in a campaign of genocide that sought to wipe out the Kurdish people,” PM Barzani stressed.
“Today, we call for a reckoning with the past and a just acknowledgement of this heinous crime,” Barzani added.
The previous regime in Iraq exiled and massacred thousands of Feyli Kurds, in a campaign of genocide that sought to wipe out the Kurdish people.
— Masrour Barzani (@masrourbarzani) May 2, 2023
Today, we call for a reckoning with the past and a just acknowledgement of this heinous crime. pic.twitter.com/qDwVKPcFMX
Earlier today, President Masoud Barzani of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), at the International Scientific Conference on the Genocide of the Kurdistan Nations (the genocide of Faily Kurds), proposed opening a research center on Feyli Kurds in Erbil, the Kurdistan Region’s capital.
The Feylis are ethnic Kurds and followers of the Shiite sect of Islam. The former Ba’athist regime in the early 1980s launched a systematic ethnic cleansing campaign. Thousands were killed and others were deported to Iran, stripped of their Iraqi citizenship. The campaign was widespread and included Baghdad, Diyala, Kut, Khanaqin, Jalawla, Numaniyah, Mandali, Naft Khana, Badra, Gassan, and many other places.
Between 10,000 and 20,000 young Feylis are estimated to have been killed by the former regime. Many Feylis, who are predominantly merchants and businesses, were also stripped of their properties and assets.
Although the Iraqi High Tribunal in 2008 and the Iraqi Parliament in 2010 officially recognized the genocide of the Feyli Kurds, they have not been granted Iraqi citizenship nor compensated for the crimes committed against them.