“The Anfal campaign against the Barzanis, perpetrated by the former Iraqi regime, was part of a broader series of atrocities aimed at subjugating the people of Kurdistan and erasing their existence. However, it ultimately failed due to the resilience and determination of the people of Kurdistan, leaving a grim stain on the conscience of the perpetrators,” President Nechirvan Barzani said in a statement.
On July 31, 1983, an estimated 8,000 members of the Barzani tribe were rounded up, abducted from their homes in the Zagros Mountains, and taken to the deserts of southern Iraq, where they were killed on the orders of the Baathist regime.
President Barzani further reiterated calls on the Iraqi government to compensate the victims’ families and extended his condolences to their families.
“It is imperative that the Iraqi government take all necessary steps to deliver justice and provide compensation to the victims’ families,” he said.
That call was echoed by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, who also urged Baghdad to compensate the victims of the genocide.
“The patriotic people of Kurdistan will never forget these crimes, and generation after generation must know that the people of Kurdistan, with all its components, have made great sacrifices to preserve their national identity and legitimate rights,” he said.
The people of Kurdistan will never forget these atrocities.
We must remember, Kurdistan has paid the ultimate sacrifice for its rights and its freedom, and we will never give up.
I salute the martyrs of the Barzani Genocide and all the martyrs of Kurdistan. pic.twitter.com/mERN0Ttr3r