KRG holds ceremony for Anfal victims

ERBIL, Iraq, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- The Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq held a formal ceremony for 150 victims of the 1980s Anfal ethnic-cleansing campaign against the Kurds.

The Iraqi military under Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical" Ali, led a campaign against Kurdish civilians and guerrillas as part of a crackdown against uprisings in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Iraqi High Tribunal handed down a death sentence for Majid and others for their role in "Operation Anfal."

Officials unearthed 150 men from a mass grave in Najaf province identified as Kurdish civilians based on documents and their attire, the KRG said in a press release Friday.

Kurdish President Massoud Barzani presided over a wreath-laying ceremony in the Kurdish capital, Erbil, saying he was thankful for his Iraqi partners in their recognition of the horrors suffered by the Kurdish people under the former regime.

"I am thankful to the Iraqi Parliament, which has officially recognized what has happened as an act of genocide. Despite the horrors we have suffered, our people have survived," he said. "Let us continue on our course for a federal, democratic, pluralistic Iraq so that future generations will not have to attend ceremonies such as this one."

Members of the Kurdish security force, Peshmerga, escorted Barzani and Vice President Kosrat Rasul in placing a wreath on a central commemorative casket. Officials from the United States, Iran, France and Russia attended the ceremony, along with other members of the international community.