Reports on Wednesday of chemical weapons use in Syria by Assad forces in Ghouta, the eastern suburb of Damascus, evoked memories of the Halabja massacre which took place on March 16, 1988 and killed around 5,000 people.
The first chemical attack in the Middle East, the Halabja massacre, known as the largest chemical weapons attack in history directed against a civilian-populated area, was against the Kurdish people who opposed Saddam Hussein's regime.
During the days of the Iran–Iraq War, Saddam Hussein ordered one of his commanders Ali Hassan al-Majid, who was nicknamed "Chemical Ali" and commanded Iraqi forces in northern Iraq during that period, to use chemical weapons against the Kurdish population, leading to the deaths of 5 thousand people, including babies, children, women and the elderly while leaving over 7 thousand people wounded.
Even years later, many babies in the region were reported to have been born as disabled due to the severe effects of the chemicals used in the Halabja massacre, about which many films were later produced and songs were composed.
Those responsible for the massacre, however, accounted before the public for what they did when the US invaded Iraq in 2003 and Saddam was judged for genocide crimes against the Kurdish people. Ali Hassan al-Majid was executed on January 25, 2010, while Saddam was also sentenced to death by hanging in December 2006 due to the crimes against humanity charges relating to the events at Halabja.
The Syrian Revolution General Commission (SRGC) claimed that on Tuesday Assad forces attacked Ghouta, the eastern suburb of Damascus, with chemical weapons, killing at least 1,300 people and leaving over 3,600 wounded.
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