On the 38th anniversary of the Anfal genocide, Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani issued a message commemorating the victims of the campaign and calling for international recognition of the atrocities as genocide.

In his statement, Barzani described the Anfal campaign as one of the most horrific crimes committed systematically by the former Iraqi regime against the Kurdish people. He noted that approximately 182,000 Kurdish citizens were killed or disappeared during the campaign, solely because of their Kurdish identity.

Barzani stated that the atrocities included chemical attacks, forced displacement, Arabization policies, demographic change, and the destruction of thousands of Kurdish villages. He emphasized that these crimes were part of a deliberate attempt by the former Iraqi government to destroy the foundations of life in Kurdistan.

The Kurdish leader stressed that the Anfal tragedy should serve as an enduring lesson for current and future generations and warned against forgetting its consequences. He also called for the international community to formally recognize the Anfal campaign as genocide.

At the national level, Barzani urged the Iraqi government to guarantee that such crimes will never be repeated and to fulfill its responsibility by compensating the victims and families affected by the Anfal campaign.

Marking the anniversary, Barzani paid tribute to the victims of Anfal and all martyrs of Kurdistan and expressed solidarity with the families who lost loved ones during the genocide.