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.

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.

Senior diplomats representing the United Nations and embassies and consulates in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region were in attendance during the solemn ceremony, NRT reported.

People from across the Kurdistan Region also visited the city's iconic monument to visit the museum there and remember the terrible crime committed against the city and those who lived there.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi released in a statement on Saturday expressing his condolences to the people of the Kurdistan Region and Halabja.

“We remember the tragedy of Halabja, where our memory brings unforgettable dreams and deep wounds left by the barbarism of the dictatorship that attacked the innocent people with chemical toxic gas and shook the world ... It was another example of the crimes of the Baathist [regime of] Saddam Hussein,” the statement read.

“Halabja was and will remain a symbol of redemption and a witness to the ugliness of dictatorship.”

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