Students, lecturers and members of the university’s Presidential Council gathered at the main square of the University of Human Development to commemorate the genocidal campaigns of Anfal that happened 36 years ago.  

The Iraqi government under dictator Saddam Hussein carried out a genocide against the Kurdish civilians in 1988 in three stages. The last stage which began on 14 April was the deadliest and most violent. Tens of thousands of Kurdish civilians, including elderlies, women and children, were forcefully transported to the deserts in the south of Iraq where they were kept in prisons, the most notorious was Nugra Salman, under inhumane conditions and later executed and buried alive.

At the gathering, Asst Prof. Dr Ahmed Hama-Ghareeb Abdullah gave a short speech about the Anfal and reminded everyone of the cruelty of the Ba’ath regime toward the Kurdish people and mentioned that the current Iraqi government must compensate the families of the victims. A moment of silence was observed at the end of the event for those who lost their lives in the genocide.