Efforts to recover remains continues

Garmiyan to build monument to Anfal victims

2024-08-15 | 12:07

GARMIYAN — Representatives from Anfal-related organizations met with Garmiyan administration officials, south of Sulaymaniyah, on Wednesday to discuss ongoing efforts to honor the memory and legacy of Anfal victims. Jalal Nouri, the Garmiyan Administrator, announced, “A monument will be constructed, and efforts to recover the remains of Anfal victims will continue.”

The meeting included the head of the Garmiyan administration, the Director of Martyrs and Anfal Victims in Garmiyan, and various organizations dedicated to the Anfal cause. The administration has earmarked one billion IQD ($763,000) from the 2024 Provincial Development Budget for the construction of a monument at the Anfal cemetery in Debna village, which will feature a museum, a hall, and other essential facilities. Choman Ahmed, Director of Public Relations at the Garmiyan administration, confirmed to 964media, “The necessary steps for this project have already begun.”

The Anfal campaign, which occurred from February 22, 1988, to September 6, 1988, was a systematic genocide conducted by Iraq’s Ba’ath regime targeting the Kurdish population. It aimed at eliminating Kurdish rebel groups and Arabizing strategic areas of Kirkuk Governorate, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 Kurds, according to a 1993 report by Human Rights Watch. Kurdish estimates, however, place the death toll as high as 182,000.

Nouri updated the organizations on the progress of recovering the remains of Garmiyan’s Anfal victims from southern Iraq’s deserts, stating, “that the administration is working through the Iraqi First Lady and other relevant authorities to facilitate the return of these remains.”

April 14, 1988, officially recognized by Kurdish authorities since 2007 as a day of Anfal remembrance, marks the genocide’s most intense phase near Garmian, noted for severe brutality and a high number of Kurdish casualties.

During the meeting, the organizations emphasized the importance of prioritizing the work to locate and recover the remains of Anfal victims, including their identification through DNA testing. They also advocated for resolving legal issues related to the transfer of lands awarded to the families of Anfal victims, political prisoners, and those persecuted during the campaign.

While some Anfal remains have been recovered, an exact count for Garmiyan victims remains unconfirmed. During the third phase of the Anfal campaign, many from Garmiyan were imprisoned in Nugra Salman prison in the Samawah, Muthanna governorate, where they faced torture and execution, with some buried alive in mass graves.