Back الهجوم الكيميائي على حلبجة Arabic Hələbcə şəhərinə zəhərli qaz hücumu Azerbaijani حلبچه شهرینه زهرلی قاز هوجومو AZB Atac químic a Halabja Catalan کیمیابارانی ھەڵەبجە CKB Chemický útok v Halabdže Czech Giftgasangriff auf Halabdscha German Jenosîdê Helebca DIQ Kemia atako kontraŭ Ĥalabĝo Esperanto Ataque químico a Halabja Spanish

Halabja massacre

Halabja massacre
Part of the Anfal campaign of the Iraqi–Kurdish conflict
Halabja is located in Iraq
Halabja
Halabja
Location within Iraq
Native nameکیمیابارانی ھەڵەبجە
LocationHalabja, Iraq
Date16 March 1988
TargetCivilian Kurds, Peshmerga, and Iranian Armed Forces
Attack type
Chemical attack
WeaponMustard gas
Deaths3,200–5,000[1]
Injured7,000–10,000[1]
Perpetrator Iraqi Republic
MotiveAnti-Kurdish sentiment
ConvictedAli Hassan al-Majid

The Halabja massacre (Kurdish: کیمیابارانی ھەڵەبجە Kêmyabarana Helebce) took place in Iraqi Kurdistan on 16 March 1988, when thousands of Kurds were killed by a large-scale Iraqi chemical attack. A targeted attack in Halabja, it was carried out during the Anfal campaign, which was led by Iraqi military officer Ali Hassan al-Majid. Two days before the attack, the city had been captured by Iran as part of Operation Zafar 7 of the Iran–Iraq War. Following the incident, the United Nations launched an investigation and concluded that mustard gas and other unidentified nerve agents had been used against Kurdish civilians.[2] The United States Defense Intelligence Agency initially blamed Iran for the attack, though the majority of evidence later revealed that Iraq had used the chemical weapons to bolster an ongoing military offensive against Iran, pro-Iranian Kurdish fighters, and ordinary Halabja residents.[3]

To date, the Halabja massacre remains the largest chemical weapons attack directed against a civilian-populated region in human history,[4] killing between 3,200 and 5,000 people and injuring 7,000 to 10,000 more.[5][1] Preliminary results from surveys of the affected areas showed increased rates of cancer and birth defects in the years since the attack took place.[6]

In 2010, the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal officially defined the Halabja chemical attack as a genocidal massacre against the Kurdish people during the time of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.[7] That same year, it was also formally condemned by the Parliament of Canada, which classified it as a crime against humanity.[8] Al-Majid, who was captured during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, was put on trial and found guilty of ordering the attack; he was sentenced to death in June 2007 and executed by hanging in January 2010.[9]

  1. ^ a b c "Halabja, the massacre the West tried to ignore". The Times. Archived from the original on 28 January 2010. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  2. ^ Hiltermann, Joost R. (2007). A Poisonous Affair: America, Iraq, and the Gassing of Halabja. Cambridge University Press. p. 195. ISBN 9780521876865.
  3. ^ "1988: Thousands die in Halabja gas attack". 16 March 1988. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Chemical Weapons Programs – Iraq Special Weapons Facilities". Federation of American Scientists. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  5. ^ "BBC ON THIS DAY | 16 | 1988: Thousands die in Halabja gas attack". BBC News. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  6. ^ "Kurds look back with fear". BBC News. 22 July 2002. Archived from the original on 11 September 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  7. ^ "1988 Kurdish massacre labeled genocide". United Press International. 8 March 2010. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017.
  8. ^ "House adopts Karygiannis Motion on Halabja Gassing as a Crime Against Humanity". 16 March 2010. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC Al-Majid was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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