Families of Anfal victims mark eid at notorious desert prison

SAMAWAH – On the first day of Eid Al-Adha, families of victims of the Anfal campaign gathered at the desolate Nugra Salman prison in Iraq’s southern desert to honor the memory of their loved ones. The prison, once a symbol of the Ba’ath regime’s brutal repression, now serves as a solemn site of remembrance.

Constructed in 1930 near the village of Salman in the Muthanna Governorate, Nugra Salman was used extensively during the 1980s to detain thousands of Kurds.

The Anfal campaign, orchestrated by Saddam Hussein’s regime between February and September 1988, aimed to suppress Kurdish resistance during the Iran–Iraq War. The operation led to the deaths of an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 Kurds, with some sources claiming up to 182,000 fatalities.

For many attendees, this visit marked their first time at the site where their relatives were detained or killed. They shared a modest Eid breakfast of bread, tea, and water beside the suspected burial sites, reflecting on the lives lost and the enduring impact of the atrocities.