Iraq's Kurds commemorate Halabja chemical attack

IRBIL, Iraq 

Hundreds of Iraq's Kurds gathered in the northern city of Halabja to commemorate the 26th anniversary of the mass killing of thousands of Kurds in a chemical weapons attack on the city, close to the border with Iran.

Mourners gathered in front of the city's "Martyrs Memorial" to pay tribute to the thousands killed during the 1988 Iran-Iraq war when Saddam Hussein regime's forces dropped toxic Mustard and Sarin gases on the city.

Between 5,000 and 7,000 Kurds are estimated to have been killed during the attack, according to the United Nations. Thousands of others died of complications, illnesses and birth defects in the following years. Many Halabja residents still suffer the physical effects of the attacks till today.

The attack was recognized as an act of genocide by the Iraqi government against the Kurdish people in March 2010. Critics decried what they believed as a poor international response to the attack, citing the United Nations Security Council resolution which only condemned the "continued use of chemical weapons in the conflict" between Iran and Iraq at that time.

Sunday's demonstrators raised Kurdish flags and some others held posters with photos of the victims of the massacre, widely considered as one of the largest incidents of mass killings in modern history.

Mourners also gathered in the cities of Irbil, al-Sulaymaniya, Kirkuk and Dahuk, where sirens wailed across the cities for five minutes starting 8am GMT to signal the time of the attack in 1988.

Iraqi members of parliament in Baghdad also observed a one-minute silence at the Sunday plenary in remembrance of the victims.

Following the attack, the Iraqi government said the attack aimed at forcing out Iranian forces in Halabja, while the Kurds said the attack meant to expel the Kurdish Peshmerga forces who had taken control of the city.

By Aref Youssef

englishnews@aa.com.tr