PM Al-Sudani: Iraq has turned the page on Anfal-era tyranny

Shafaq News/ On Sunday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani commemorated the victims of the Anfal Campaign, condemning the atrocities committed against the Kurdish population 37 years ago by the former Ba'athist regime.

In a post on X, Al-Sudani emphasized that Iraq has since turned the page on tyranny, affirming that the values of unity and peaceful coexistence have prevailed over the divisions the former regime sought to impose.

The Anfal Campaign, launched in 1986 and peaking in 1988, was orchestrated by Ali Hassan al-Majid—known as “Chemical Ali”—who served as the Ba'ath Party’s Northern Bureau chief and military governor of the region. Military operations were led by then-Defense Minister Sultan Hashim.

In May 3, 2011, Iraq’s High Criminal Court officially classified the campaign as genocide and a crime against humanity. Al-Majid, also responsible for the chemical attack on Halabja, was sentenced to death and executed in 2010. The Kurdistan Regional Government commemorates the victims annually on April 14.