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A look at the Operation Anfal campaign
22.8.2006
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Saddam Hussein's military carried out the Anfal
campaign from 1987-1988, aiming to purge large areas
of Kurdistan (northern Iraq) of Kurdish guerrillas
with ties to Iran amid a war between the two
countries. The name Anfal is Arabic for "spoils of
war" and is the name of the eighth chapter of the
Quran, Islam's holy book.
The Victims:
Death toll estimates have varied widely, from 50,000
to as many as 180,000 Kurds. At least 2,000 villages
were destroyed, according to Human Rights Watch, the
New York-based group that did an extensive
investigation of Anfal in 1993.
The Campaign: In
late 1987, large areas of the Kurdish north were
defined as "prohibited zones," where anyone would be
considered a guerrilla and subject to a
shoot-to-kill policy, according to Human Rights
Watch. |
Former dictator Saddam Hussein
Photo : AFP |
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Months later, the first of eight waves of the Anfal
campaign was launched, lasting until the end of 1988
and moving systematically across northeastern Iraq.
The military bombarded villages, sometimes with
mustard gas and nerve agents, then sent in troops to
raze the communities. Families were taken to camps
by the truckload, while in some cases men were
executed on the spot, the rights group's report
said.
The Camps: Tens
of thousands were taken to prison camps in northern
and central Iraq, where men and boys were separated
from their families. Most of the males disappeared,
executed by firing squad and buried in mass graves.
Women, children and elderly were held for months in
crowded, unsanitary conditions that caused further
deaths, according to Human Rights Watch.
The End: The
government announced an amnesty for Kurds in
September 1988, declaring that guerrillas had been
defeated, and the camps were cleared, with the
inmates sent to cities in Kurdistan (northern Iraq).
AP
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