THE AL-ANFAL CAMPAIGN

1986-1989

VICTIMS
- The Al-Anfal campaign was an attempt to extinguish

the Kurdish population (an ethnic minority) in Iraq.

- Over 180,000 Kurds were killed. - Kurdish villages and cities were completely destroyed using chemical weapons. - Women and children were taken into camps, many died due to horrible living conditions. -70 percent of the victims were men that approximately aged 15-50.

PERPETRAT ORS
-The principal perpetrators of this genocide was the Iraqi government under the directive of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, and his cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid (aka: Chemical Ali) -This genocide was perpetrated to attempt to suppress Kurdish resistance to the Iraqi government, and to prevent the Kurdish from attaining their own country, and to wipe out the Kurdish for good. -Ali Hassan al-Majid was sentenced to death 5 times for his part in military actions and was later hung. Saddam Hussein was also executed later on other charges.

WHEN, WHERE, AND WHY

-In 1980-1988 there was a war between Iran and Iraq. During this time around 1988 attacks on the Kurdish people ordered by Saddam Hussein. -The Al-Anfal Campaign was mainly concentrated in northeast Iraq as shown in this map here. -There was a rebellion against Iraq as they were against war with Iran and Saddam Hussein indiscriminately ordered all Kurds to be killed.

INTERVENTION ATTEMPTS
- There were none!

- The US had previously supported Hussein in his conflict with Iran. - Some perpetrators (most notably Saddam President Reagan shakes hands with Hussein; he supported him militarily in a war with Iran Hussein) have been brought to trial and hanged despite knowing that Kurds were being gassed
(New York Times)

WHAT ENDED IT?

-In 1989 Saddam granted amnesty to the Kurdish people. -In a 1991 Kurdish uprising, 4 million Iraqi government documents were seized and transported to a safe zone in Northern Iraq-Kurdistan, where the Human Rights Watch and other organizations used the documents and evidence from earlier investigations in the Kurdish zone to prove a case of genocidal intent against the Iraqi government.

SOURCES
D. Johns, (2006, January 24). General Format. Retrieved from
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/iraq501/events_anfal.html Unknown Author (Unknown Publication Date). Al-Anfal and the Genocide of Iraqi Kurds. Retrieved from http://www.ncas.rutgers.edu/center-study-genocide-conflict-resolution-and-human-rights/al-anfal-and-genocide-iraqi-kurds1988 Pear, R (September 15, 1988). U.S. Says It Monitored Iraqi Messages on Gas. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/15/world/us-says-it-monitored-iraqi-messages-on-gas.html