Halabja (Kurdish: Helepçe or هه‌ڵه‌بجه, Arabic: حلبجة ḥalabǧah or Turkish: Halepçe ) is a Kurdish town in Iraq or Southern Kurdistan about 150 miles (240 km) northeast of Baghdad and 8-10 miles from the Iranian border. The town's population is largely Kurdish. The Kurdish language (Kurdish: Kurdî or کوردی) is the language spoken by Kurds. ... Arabic redirects here. ... Southern Kurdistan (or Iraqi Kurdistan) is a geo-cultural region located in present-day Northern Iraq. ... Baghdad (Arabic: ) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate. ... Languages Kurdish Religions Predominantly Sunni Muslim also some Shia, Yazidism, Yarsan, Judaism, Christianity Related ethnic groups other Iranian peoples (Talysh Baluch Gilak Bakhtiari Persians) The Kurds are an ethnic group who consider themselves to be indigenous to a region often referred to as Kurdistan, an area which includes adjacent parts...

The town lies at the base of what is often refereed to as the greater Hewraman region stretching across the Iran-Iraq border. Kurds in the city of Halabja generally speak Hewrami or Sorani, two different dialects of the Kurdish language Hewraman (or Hawraman) is a mountaneous region situated in north-western Iran including the city Pawe and north-eastern Iraq including the city Halabja. ... Hewrami or Hawrami is an archaic branch of Kurdish language. ... Sorani is a group of Central Kurdish dialects and as such is part of the Iranian languages. ... The Kurdish language (Kurdish: Kurdî or کوردی) is the language spoken by Kurds. ...

1988

Main article: Halabja poison gas attack

The monument to the victims of the 1988 gasattack, photographed in 2005.

Halabja was occupied by Kurdish peshmerga supported by Iran in the final phase of the Iran-Iraq war. On 16 March 1988, after two days of conventional artillery attacks, Iraqi planes dropped gas canisters on the town.^[1] Photo said to have been taken in the aftermath of the attack. ... Peshmerga, Peshmerga or peshmerge (Kurdish: pêşmerge) is the term used by Kurds to refer to armed Kurdish fighters. ... Combatants  Iran Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Iraq Peoples Mujahedin of Iran Commanders Ruhollah Khomeini Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Ali Shamkhani Mostafa Chamran â€  Saddam Hussein Ali Hassan al-Majid Strength 305,000 soldiers 500,000 Pasdaran and Basij militia 900 tanks 1,000 armored vehicles 3,000 artillery pieces 470 aircraft... is the 75th day of the year (76th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Photo said to have been taken in the aftermath of the attack. ...

The town and surrounding district were attacked with bombs, artillery fire, and chemical weapons, the latter of which proved most devastating. At least 5,000 people died as an immediate result of the chemical attack and it is estimated that a further 7,000 people were injured or suffered long term illness.^[2] Early detection of chemical agents Sociopolitical climate of chemical warfare While the study of chemicals and their military uses was widespread in China, the use of toxic materials has historically been viewed with mixed emotions and some disdain in the West (especially when the enemy were doing it). ...

The attack is believed to have included the nerve agents Tabun, Sarin, and VX, as well as mustard gas. It is occasionally suggested that cyanide was also included among these chemical weapons, though this assertion has been cast into doubt, as cyanide is a natural byproduct of impure Tabun.^[3][4][5] The attack on Halabja took place amidst the infamous Anfal campaign, in which Saddam Hussein violently suppressed Kurdish revolts during the Iran-Iraq war. Saddam Hussein ordered the use of chemical weapons in attacking up to 24 villages in Kurdish areas in April 1987. This article is about the chemical. ... Tabun or GA (Ethyl N,N-dimethylphosphoramidocyanidate) is an extremely toxic substance that is one of the worlds most dangerous military weapons. ... For other uses, see Sarin (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Airborne exposure limit 0. ... This article is about the chemical compound. ... Excavating the skeletons of Kurds killed at the Al-Anfal Campaign. ... Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was the fifth President of Iraq and Chairman of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council from 1979 until his overthrow by US forces in 2003. ...

Before the war ended the Iraqis moved in on the ground and completely destroyed the town.^[6]

After 1988

In the mountains to the East of Halabja, the militant Islamist group Ansar al-Islam occupied a small enclave in the period 2000 - 2003. The area was overrun by peshmerga from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), with U.S. air support, at the beginning of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1408x1131, 629 KB)1st Lt. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1408x1131, 629 KB)1st Lt. ... The word militant has come to refer to any individual or party engaged in aggressive physical or verbal combat, normally for a cause. ... Islamism is a political ideology derived from the conservative religious views of Muslim fundamentalism. ... Ansar al-Islam (Arabic: انصار الاسلام, Supporters or Partisans of Islam) is a Kurdish Sunni Islamist group, promoting a radical interpretation of Islam and holy war. ... The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) (est. ... For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation). ... Close air support (often abbreviated CAS) is the use of military aircraft in a ground attack role against targets in close proximity to friendly troops, in support of ground combat operations. ... This article is about the 2003 invasion of Iraq. ...

On December 23, 2005, a Dutch court sentenced Frans van Anraat, a businessman who bought chemicals on the world market and sold them to Saddam's regime, to 15 years in prison. The Dutch court ruled that Saddam committed genocide against the people of Halabja, which was the first time a court described the use of chemical weapons against the people of Halabja as genocide. is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Frans Cornelis Adrianus van Anraat (born August 9, 1942 in Den Helder) is a Dutch businessman who sold raw materials for the production of chemical weapons to Iraq during the reign of Saddam Hussein. ... For other uses, see Genocide (disambiguation). ...

On the 2006 anniversary of the gas attack, violent demonstrations erupted in Halabja against the Kurdish administration. An estimated 7,000 demonstrators protested against priorities in reconstruction, claiming party bosses did not care about the problems of the gas attack victims. Road blocks were set up and the gas attack memorial museum was set afire. Police fired at protesters killing one 14-year old boy and wounding many others. The memorial at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii commemorates American dead from wars in the Pacific. ...

References

1. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/16/newsid_4304000/4304853.stm
2. ^ Osman, Hiwa (March 17th, 2002). Iraqi Kurds recall chemical attack. BBC News. Retrieved on 2006-08-05.
3. ^ http://www.terrorismcentral.com/Library/Teasers/ChemIraq.html
4. ^ http://www.mitretek.org/ChemistryOfGATabun.htm
5. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/02/iraq_events/html/chemical_warfare.stm
6. ^ Hirst, David (March 22nd, 1988). The Kurdish victims caught unaware by cyanide. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2006-06-09.

8. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2098.htm Retired Army War College prof. and CIA analyst Stephen Pelletiere disputing the accusation that Iraq has used chemical weapons against its citizens. Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 217th day of the year (218th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 160th day of the year (161st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

9. http://www.9neesan.com/halapja/ Pictures of poison gas victims.

See also

• Dujail
• Halabja poison gas attack
• Human rights in Saddam's Iraq
• Trial of Saddam Hussein

Dujail (, Arabic: الدجيل; alternate spelling: Ad Dujayl) is a small Shiite town in northern Iraq. ... Photo said to have been taken in the aftermath of the attack. ... Iraq under Saddam Hussein was notorious for high levels of torture and mass murder. ... Saddam Hussein during his first appearance before the Iraqi Special Tribunal Saddam Hussein (April 28, 1937 - December 30, 2006), the former President of Iraq, was tried by the interim Iraqi government for crimes against humanity. ...

External links

• The Kurdistani on the 2006 riots

Coordinates: 35°11′N, 45°59′E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...