Speaking to Kurdpress on the 31st anniversary of the genocidal chemical attack, the governor of the Halabja Province, Azad Taufiq, told Kurdpress that the province was a forerunner in the fight against the toppled Baath Regime and underlined that the massacre and the catastrophe could be even worse if the Islamic Republic of Iran had not aided the city and more people would have been martyred and displaced.

He stressed that the Islamic Republic of Iran made the world aware of the catastrophe, appreciating Iran for its aids at the time and stressed that the people in Kurdistan Region are thankful for the efforts during the Halabje massacre and the 1991 Anfal of the Iraqi Baath regime against the Kurds in the north.

Taufiq went on to reiterate that the Iranian media made the world to become aware of the massacres and Tehran also sent its medical aids to the people of the region to be recovered from the situation as soon as possible.

On March 16, 1988, the Ba'ath regime attacked the city of Halabja using mustard gas and the nerve agents sarin, tabun, VX, and possibly cyanide, which have the capability to suffocate and kill people in less than a minute.

Poisonous fumes spread across the city and the mostly civilian victims died in clumps throughout the city's residential areas. Many others managed to survive and escaped into Iran.

As many as 5,000 people were killed and thousands more wounded. Many of the residents of Halabja became separated from their families in the chaos of the attack and were never able to make contact again.

Victims of the chemical attack still suffer the effects to this day, both psychologically and medically.

Following the attack, the city was systematically razed by the Iraqi Army. The area itself has not fully recovered and many homes and buildings remain in ruins.

Halabja has become an important symbol to Kurdish people everywhere. The local government in Halabja annually petitions the international community to officially recognize the massacre.

Life has returned to Halabja, but the wounds linger. Some of the survivors still lack adequate medical treatment.

Local authorities would like to do more than just commemorate the anniversary once a year. They are working to revive the city by rebuilding and creating a global link with the rest of the world.

Reporter’s code: 50101