Today April 14th 2017 marks 29th anniversary of the so-called Anfal campaign during which former chauvinist Baath regime carried out a systematic genocide attack against Kurdistan and its people.

In a series of brutal military attacks that targeted the civilians of Kurdistan region, nearly 182,000 were martyred, then their remains were buried in mass graves in Iraq's southern deserts. In addition to looting and destroying thousands of villages, the campaign left large areas of Kurdistan in ruins.

Since the fall of the Baathist regime, one of the top priorities of the Kurdistan Regional Government has been finding those mass graves and bringing back remains of Anfal victims to the homeland. In addition to that, the KRG has been striving to serve and improve the living conditions of the families of the victims of Anfal.  It is very disappointing that Iraqi government, after the fall of the Baathist regime, have been failing to provide help and support to the families of victims.

As we commemorate the notorious Anfal campaign today, our people have recently faced another genocidal campaign by the so-called Islamic State terrorist organization. However, the people of Kurdistan are close record another major victory against yet another inhumane campaign. Although the aim of the latest terrorist attacks on our Yezidi brethren and other ethnic and religious groups were similar to the Anfal campaign, Kurdistan military forces, the Peshmerga, with the help of the international coalition forces have dealt major blows to terrorists.

Distinguished people of Kurdistan,

Whatever plans of enemies such as Baathist regime, ISIS and their likes are, the brave Peshmergas and security forces, supported by the resilience and unity of political factions and Kurdistanis from all walks of life, will always remain as a fortresses in protecting our nation. Moreover, the people of Kurdistan are no longer alone, but they have strong friends and allies in the region and across the world.

We believe that the unity and cooperation among all political parties and civil society, will be the strongest deterrence against any potential threat against our nation and land.

Just as after the fall of the Baath regime, when a strong, united and inclusive government in Kurdistan had let to prosperity, now as we approach the post-ISIS phase, all political groups and factions of Kurdistan are responsible to pave the way for unity and harmony, as well as participate in creating a promising future for our people in Kurdistan.

We once again extend our condolences to the families of victims of Anfal campaign and all martyrs of Kurdistan.

Council of Ministers
Kurdistan Regional Government