| Press Statement Richard Boucher, Spokesman Washington, DC March 16, 2001 Anniversary of the Halabja MassacreToday marks the thirteenth anniversary of Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons attack on Halabja, a predominantly Kurdish city in northeastern Iraq. On March 16, 1988, an estimated 5,000 civilians were killed and 10,000 injured when Iraqi air forces bombarded Halabja with mustard and other poison gases. Thirteen years after the massacre, the people of Halabja still suffer from very high rates of serious diseases such as cancer, neurological disorders, birth defects and miscarriages. Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons attack on Halabja was not an isolated incident. It was part of a systematic campaign ordered by Saddam Hussein and led by his lieutenant, Ali Hassan al-Majid, the infamous "Chemical Ali," against Iraqi Kurdish civilians. International observers estimate Iraqi forces killed 50,000 to 100,000 people during the 1988 campaign known as "Anfal" which means "the spoils." Further, the Iraqi regime also killed thousands of Iranians with chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq War from 1983 to 1988. We are working towards the day when those ultimately responsible for the decision to order the poison gas bombardment of Halabja can be brought to justice before an international tribunal, in a free and democratic Iraq, or wherever they may be found. These crimes will not be forgotten. As we remember Halabja, we wish to reaffirm to ourselves and the international community that Saddam Hussein’s regime must never be permitted to rebuild its programs for the development of weapons of mass destruction. |
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