Examples Of Chemical Attacks On The Kurdish Genocide

Dean Lambert

Mrs. Engel

World Literature

February 3rd, 2023

Chemical Attacks on the Kurdish is Considered Genocide Genocide is considered one of the worst crimes against humanity, as it involved the killing of entire populations and groups of people. Throughout history millions of victims have had their lives claimed due to genocide. The Anfal Campaign led by Ali Hassan Al-Majid and the Ba’ath regime is no exception. By using the definition of genocide, looking into the conditions of the Kurdish people at the time, searching of an appropriate punishment, and stopping genocide as a whole it is not a question that the Kurdish people were victims of a genocide. The definition of genocide has been a huge debate for decades. People come to an

Not only were the people being massacred but “4,500 villages were razed to the ground undermining the potential of Kurdistan’s agriculture resources and destroying their rural way of life and heritage….90% of villages and more than 20 small towns and cities were completely destroyed” (“Anfal Campaign and Kurdish Genocide”). By attempting to wipe out all of the Kurd’s resources Ali makes it clear that he intends to commit genocide against the Kurdish people. These numbers show the vast amount of damage done against the Kurds. It is also proven that “thousands of women and children vanished. Evidence shows a lot were taken to internment camps where they were executed or died from deprivation” (“Anfal Campaign and Kurdish Genocide”). More evidence on the clear intent to wipe out all of the Kurdish people and proving that this should clearly be considered a genocide. By looking at the facts that Ali attempted to destroy all of the Kurd’s villages, ruining their agriculture and killing off the children so there is no future generation it is made crystal clear that the Anfal Campaign was a

“The 1988 Anfal Campaign in Iraqi Kurdistan.” Sciences Po, 3 February 2008, https://www.sciencespo.fr/mass-violence-war-massacre-resistance/en/document/1988-anfal-campaign-iraqi-kurdistan.html#title2. Accessed 11 February 2023.

MURPHY, BRIAN. “Iraq's 'Chemical Ali' infamous for 1988 gas attack.” The San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 January 2010, https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-iraqs-chemical-ali-infamous-for-1988-gas-attack-2010jan25-story.html. Accessed 17 March 2023.

Schwarz, Jon. “Eight Times the U.S. Has Betrayed the Kurds.” The Intercept, 7 October 2019, https://theintercept.com/2019/10/07/kurds-syria-turkey-trump-betrayal/. Accessed 15 March 2023.

Taib, Dana. “Survivors of the Anfal Kurdish genocide long for closure.” Al Jazeera, 14 April 2021, https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2021/4/14/hold-survivors-of-the-anfal-kurdish-genocide-long-for-closure. Accessed 18 March 2023.

“2.7. Former Baath party members | European Union Agency for Asylum.” European Union Agency for Asylum, https://euaa.europa.eu/country-guidance-iraq-2021/27-former-baath-party-members. Accessed 20 March 2023.

“Who Was Ali Hassan Al-Majid ("Chemical Ali") ?” Human Rights Watch, 6 April 2003, https://www.hrw.org/news/2003/04/06/who-was-ali-hassan-al-majid-chemical-ali. Accessed 20 March