KRG pledges nearly half billion IQD to new Halabja hospital for victims of infamous chemical attack

Halgurd Sherwani 2021/07/18 14:33

A statue made from an iconic photograph of a dead father holding his dead son, taken of the aftermath of the 1988 Iraqi chemical attack on Halabja. (Photo: Safin Hamed/AFP)

Kurdistan Halabja Chemical Attack Krg Masrour Barzani Halabja Anfal Iraq

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Sunday announced that regional Prime Minister Masrour Barzani had agreed to spend almost 500 million Iraqi dinars on local healthcare in the province of Halabja, most of which will fund a new facility built to treat victims of a horrific 1988 chemical weapons attack.

During the 1980s, the former Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein subjected Halabja – then part of Sulamiani province – to chemical attacks as part of its deadly Anfal operation against ethnic Kurds, now widely recognized as genocide. The chemical bombardment left as many as 5,000 dead, including women and children.

The 480,000,000 IQD (329,000 US) will be dedicated to the newly-opened Halabja Chemical Weapons Exposed Patient’s Hospital, in part, to buy necessary equipment and medications that the survivors of the attacks require for their continued treatment, according to a statement from the region’s health ministry.

The Kurdish premier allocated the sum, “in order to provide health care to the residents of Halabja province, particularly those exposed to chemical weapons,” the ministry said.

In addition to direct injuries sustained in the actual chemical attack, a significant percentage of the population has developed multiple chronic health conditions as a result of exposure to the toxic substances used.

Mohamad Aziz Halabjayi, who survived the 1988 chemical weapons attack in Halabja and had been treated in the United States since 2001, died from his injuries in March in Nashville, Tennessee.

Editing by John J. Catherine