Anniversary of the Halabja Massacre

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
For Immediate Release
March 16, 2001


STATEMENT BY RICHARD BOUCHER, SPOKESMAN

Anniversary of the Halabja Massacre

Today 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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