16-03-2010
Rudaw - On March 16th Kurds will come together to commemorate the anniversary of the Halabja poison gas attack in Iraqi Kurdistan, in which 5,000 people were killed. Iran banned the commemoration in the city of Sardast.
The local Security Council in Qelatereshe in Serdesht banned a Halabja commemoration on 15 March. The authorities said that everybody who participated in the memorial would be arrested.
Halabja remains the largest chemical weapons attack directed against a civilian-populated area in history. In January 2010, Ali Hassan al Majid, or "Chemical Ali", was executed based on being found guilty of orchestrating the atrocities against the Kurdish people. More than 180.000 Kurds were killed between 1986-1989, in the genocidal Anfal campaign.
The Kurdish PM Barham Salih laid a foundation stone for the Halabja University today (Photo: Rudaw).
© Rudaw
