During his two-day visit to the Kurdistan Region, al-Kadhimi arrived in Halabja after visiting Erbil, Dohuk and Sulaimani, and met with Governor Azad Tawfiq and other officials in the province.

Regarding the meeting, Azad Tawfaqi said that he had submitted a request to Kadhimi regarding the needs and shortcomings of Halabja, which included 20 shortcomings, and that he was optimistic about their implementation.

He added that these requests include allocating a special budget for the development of Halabja, solving its problems and difficulties, recognizing it as a province by the Iraqi government, trying to find the missing children of Halabja, treating the chemically injured people, opening ministries and official institutions of the central government in Halabja and taking other steps to solve the problems and shortcomings of this province.

He also said that the Iraqi president had promised them to form a special committee to investigate the situation of Halabja and implement these demands and solve its problems, especially the recognition of this province by the central government, and that this committee would be tasked with investigating about the victims of Ba’ath Regime crimes and do necessary measures to compensate for them.

During a visit to Halabja, Kadhimi attended the memorial service for the chemical bombing of the city and paid tribute to the victims of the chemical bombing, saying that what happened in Halabja was a pain for humanity and all Iraqis.

During a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Friday, September 11, Sulaimani Governor Haval Abubakir presented a letter outlining 26 demands for the improvement of life in the governorate.

Later, Abubakir published a copy of the letter on his Facebook account and wrote in an accompanying post that most of the points received a positive response from the federal officials who accompanied the prime minister during his visit to the city.

The demands largely focused on financial concerns and the need to provide salaries and financial benefits to public sector workers in the Kurdistan Region, arguing that those payments should be protected from conflict between Erbil and Baghdad.

The letter also called for increased spending on infrastructure projects in the Kurdistan Region’s governorates, saying that budget disputes with Baghdad since 2014 have had a negative impact on public services.

Reporter’s code: 50101