Halabja chemical attack anniv. marked by Kurds
Altaf Ahmad
Press TV, Erbil
Nothing but heartbeats and heavy breathes broke through the five minutes of silence dedicated to the lives lost on “Bloody Friday”.
This day marks what went down in history as the worst chemical attack known to mankind.
It was led by former Iraqi Dictator – Saddam Hussein – against the Iraqi-Kurdish town of Halabja.Saddam had accused the Kurds of Halabja of treason and collaboration with the Iranian army during Iraq-Iran war.
On March 16th of 1988 – Halabja was attacked with a mixture of mustard gas and Tabun as well as Sarin and VX nerve gases.The attack killed some 5000 people mostly women and children.
Memorial events went on all over Iraq’s Kurdistan region as well as the Iraqi capital Baghdad.This as civil rights organizations and activists took to the German Consulate in Erbil accusing Berlin of providing Saddam with the chemical arms.
The attack on Halabja also injured no less than 7000 to 10,000 people; this as thousands of others have died of diseases and birth defects in following years.
Over a quarter of a century has passed and the wounds of Halabja are yet to heal.However, Iraqi Kurds say this year’s commemoration stands out from previous ones as they never imagined genocide would be witnessed again in Iraq. But, with the rise of ISIL in the country; it seems that the body of Iraq has been maimed yet a newer time.
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