UK MENA minister's virtual statement to remember the visctims of Anfal

News : 4/14/2025

London, United Kingdom, www.uk.gov.krd. UK minister for Middle Eastern affairs Hamish Falconer, honored victims of Saddam Hussein's brutal Anfal Campaign in a video tribute.

He said:

"On the 14th of April, as we have for many years, we gather to remember the victims of Saddam Hussein's brutal and inhumane Anfal campaign. He and his thuggish Ba’athist killers, systematically targeted Kurds and other minorities between 1986 and 1989. The appalling acts committed are too many to list, but they include the forceful displacement, maiming, and murder of between 50,000 and 100,000 people, and the deliberate and callous destruction of 4,000 Kurdish villages. This was a calculated attempt to cause as much damage and hurt to Kurds as possible.

On the 16th of March, the British Consul General in Abil visited Halabja, the site of Saddam's most gruesome use of chemical weapons against the Kurdish people. He marked the anniversary of the attack on behalf of the UK.

Today, we honour the memory of those killed in this horrid episode of history. My thoughts, along with the British government, are with their families and loved ones on this mournful day. The UK's hope for the Kurdistan region of Iraq is still a future of peace, stability, and prosperity for its people."

To see the clip, please click here