Halabja

Category: Genocide

Halabja was the deadliest single assault against the Kurds using chemical weapons. It occurred between March 15 and March 19 of 1988, during the last year of the Iraq-Iran war. Halabja became known as the “Kurdish Hiroshima,” mainly because the victims were exposed to mustard gas and cyanide along with many other chemicals. The mustard gas caused burns, mutations in DNA, and caused malformations and cancer. In addition, the nerve gases sarin and tabun were also used. These two gases could kill, paralyze, or cause immediate and lasting neuropsychiatric damage. Doctors at the time suspected that the employment of VX gas and aflatoxin also killed hundreds. About 5,000 civilians were killed and 10,000 more were injured on the first day alone while about 12,000 were killed in the course of those three days.