50 years on
Remembering the 1974 attack on Qaladze
QALADZE — Fifty years have passed since the catastrophic bombing of Qaladze on April 24, 1974 by the former Ba’ath regime, which resulted in the death and injury of over 400 individuals.
The event coincided with the relocation of the University of Sulaymaniyah to Qaladze, which had become a hub of revolutionary support against Saddam Hussein’s government at the time.
Residents and students gathered on that day to support the Kurdish revolution which, faced brutal opposition from the regime in the form of napalm attacks against them.
The April 24 bombardment led to over 160 fatalities and 250 injuries, claiming the lives of women, children, and the elderly, as well as bringing extensive devastation to the city.
Years later, in remembrance of the attack, an uprising against the regime took place on April 24, 1982, again in Qaladze. Local residents took control of key areas in Pshdar district for three days, which resulted in 72 arrests and the deaths of two women who came to symbolize the resistance, teachers Snawbar Mahmoud and Amina. In total, 12 invdividuals were injured in the government response, one of whom, Amanj Rashid, later succumbed to his wounds.
Hama Zrng, one of those detained during the 1982 uprising, told 964media that Qaladze was a center of revolutionary activity in 1974, which the regime had trouble controlling. As a result, he said, the Ba’ath government sought to destroy the city as a means of suppressing the revolution.
“I was among those arrested during the 1982 uprising; I was 20 years old then,” Zrng said. “However, because the area was controlled by its residents, Saddam Hussein issued a presidential decree to release all detainees due to the unrest.”
Zrng believes the number of casualties from the attacks is higher than records tell since a number of people who were injured later died in outside villages or near the border with Iran.
“Because of the intensity of the bombing, many families were unable to recognize their own relatives among the [killed] or wounded,” he said. “The Ba’ath regime displayed relentless cruelty towards the local population, accusing them of supporting the revolution.”