1988: Anfal Campaign and Halabja Massacre:

Between February and September of 1988, Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist regime carried out the Anfal campaign, a genocidal assault against Iraq’s Kurdish population that resulted in the deaths of more than 180,000 people. This systematic operation involved mass executions, village burnings, and the destruction of Kurdish communities, leaving behind a legacy of trauma and devastation. One of the most infamous events during Anfal was the chemical attack on the Kurdish city of Halabja on March 16, 1988. Iraqi planes dropped mustard gas and nerve agents on the civilian population, killing approximately 5,000 men, women, and children instantly, with thousands more suffering long-term health effects.

 

In addition to direct massacres, the regime also pursued a policy of Arabization, particularly in resource-rich areas such as Kirkuk. Kurdish families were forcibly driven from their homes and villages and relocated to southern Iraq, while Arab families were resettled in their place. These Arab settlers were often given inexpensive housing and jobs, further incentivizing demographic engineering. The goal of Arabization was to alter the ethnic balance of key Kurdish regions, ensuring Baghdad’s control over oil-rich territories and undermining Kurdish claims to autonomy. Together, the Anfal genocide, the Halabja chemical attack, and Arabization campaigns represented some of the most brutal policies of Saddam Hussein’s regime, leaving deep scars on Kurdish society that persist to this day.

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