The Halabja Bill was passed in the Iraqi Parliament on Monday, granting Halabja official status as a province after a complex bureaucratic process in Baghdad with support from Kurdish, Shiite, and Sunni factions. Halabja, located in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) on the Iranian border, was the site of a chemical attack on 16 March 1988 which massacred 5,000 Kurds as part of Saddam Hussein’s broader Anfal campaign.
Bafel Talabani, leader of the region’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), congratulated the people of Halabja on their new governorship. “This is a historic day,” he said, in a post on X. “I am filled with joy as we finally achieve one of the goals we have long strived for, a step that, at last, brings some relief to the deep suffering our people have endured.”
Reiterating the significance of addressing historical persecution endured by the Kurdish community of Halabja, Talabani stressed, “The recognition of Halabja as a province is a powerful reminder that we share a collective history. It also renews our hope that, through unity and solidarity, we can better serve our people.”
Halabja’s provincial status gained support from across political spectrum, despite long-standing rivalry between the two main parties. Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) also responded positively to the move, reaffirming the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) commitment to remembering Hussein’s victims and pledging to improve the province’s public services.
Halabja Mayor Nuxsha Nasih, the first woman to become a governor in Iraq or Iraqi Kurdistan, shared a message of thanks on social media, saying that the decision would ensure sustainable peace for the region. She congratulated residents in person, visiting businesses on the streets of Halabja city.
Serxel Khafar, a citizen interviewed by local agency Roj News, highlighted the unified support from disparate Iraqi factions for Halabja’s official status. “The establishment of Halabja as a province was the voice of all Kurdish factions, with the hope that at all stages, all political parties will be united and unanimous in the problems facing our people.”
Abdullah Mihemed, another citizen responding to the news noted that, considering its history of persecution and suffering, the city is owed reconstruction efforts and investment in infrastructure and services. He said decision was “a great hope and light” for the city.
The KRG recognised Halabja as an independent governorate in 2014, after it split from PUK-led Sulaymaniyah (Silêmanî) province when the Iraqi Council of Ministers approved a proposal to make Halabja the country’s 19th province months before. It has taken 12 years for Baghdad to pass the draft bill. Details regarding Halabja’s administrative alignment are expected to be released in coming days, amid pressure for investment from central government.
