The Kurdistan National Congress (KNC) issued a statement to commemorate all those Kurdish people who were massacred in Halabja on 16 March 1988.
On 16 March 1988, the regime of Saddam Hussein murdered thousands of civilians by poison gas in the Kurdish-Iraqi town of Halabja. For the anniversary of this atrocity, now also known as Halabja Massacre, the Kurdistan National Congress (KNC) issued a statement.
‘More than 5 thousand people were killed in a few hours’
The KNC stated that the Baath regime implemented genocidal policies towards the Kurds as soon as they took power in Iraq, destroying more than 4 thousand Kurdish villages and killing over 182,000 Kurds over a 4 year period where the Kurds had been living, from Germiyan to Behdinan.
“The Halabja Massacre was one of the worst crimes of the 20th century. More than 5 thousand people were killed in just a few hours whilst thousands were left seriously injured. Halabja has become a deep pain and wound for the Kurdish people. We will never forget Halabja,” said the KNC.
The Kurdistan National Congress also stated that the attacks targeting the Kurdish people still continue in Sinjar (Shengal) in the northern Iraq and in Jazira (Cizire), Afrin (Efrîn), Tell Abyad (Girê Spî) and Ras-al-Ayn (Serê Kaniyê) in the North East Syria.
