Sema
President Masoud Barzani Marks 38th Anniversary of Badinan Anfal, Says Kurdish People’s Will Prevailed
President Masoud Barzani on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, issued a message marking the 38th anniversary of the Badinan Anfal campaign (August 25–September 6, 1988), stressing that the steel will of the people of Kurdistan ultimately prevailed over the former Iraqi regime’s scorched-earth policies.
He also emphasized that it is the responsibility of the Iraqi state to compensate those affected for all crimes committed against them.
In his message, President Barzani said that, as part of the former Iraqi regime’s series of crimes in the 20th century, the regime carried out a brutal and inhumane campaign from August 25 to September 6, 1988, targeting most areas and villages of steadfast Badinan.
The campaign involved chemical attacks, arrests, killings, forced displacement, and the Anfalization of civilians, resulting in genocide, the disappearance and displacement of thousands of people, and the complete destruction of hundreds of villages.
Failure of the “Scorched-Earth” Policy
President Barzani stated that the main objective of the former regime was to impose demographic change in Kurdistan, implement a scorched-earth policy, and break the will of the Kurdish people.
However, he stressed that the steel will of the people of Kurdistan to survive and achieve freedom ultimately prevailed, while the fate of their enemies and perpetrators was collapse and downfall, leaving them as a lesson for history.
Constitutional Right and Compensation for Victims
President Masoud Barzani concluded his message by paying tribute to the souls of the martyrs of the Badinan Anfal, Garmiyan, Barzan, and all those who sacrificed their lives on the path to freedom in Kurdistan.
He stressed:
“On this painful anniversary, we reaffirm that it is the duty and responsibility of the Iraqi state to provide material and moral compensation to the people of Kurdistan for all the crimes, violations, and atrocities committed against them.”