Anfal Campaign

The Anfal campaign was a large-scale military operation carried out by Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi government against the Kurdish people and other non-Arab communities in northern Iraq.

While it’s often described as occurring mainly in 1988, its preparation and phases stretched from 1986 to 1989. Its name, Anfal, comes from the eighth chapter of the Qur’an, but in this case, it became the official code name for the campaign. 

Scholars and human rights organizations consider the campaign to be an act of genocide or ethnic cleansing, meaning it was an intentional effort to destroy, remove, or break the identity of a particular ethnic group. 

At this time, Iraq was fighting the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988). The Kurdish population in northern Iraq had long sought greater autonomy, and many Kurdish fighters opposed the Iraqi government. Saddam Hussein’s regime labelled these resistance fighters (Peshmerga) and the communities that supported them as enemies. To “solve” this resistance, Iraq launched the Anfal campaign. 

The campaign was carried out under the command of Ali Hassan al-Majid, Saddam’s cousin, who later became known as “Chemical Ali” because of his role in using chemical weapons against civilians. 

Between 1986 and 1988, Iraqi forces moved through Kurdish rural areas and destroyed thousands of villages and towns.  Forced entire populations to leave their homes.  Separated men and boys of fighting age, many of whom were later killed.  Sent survivors, women, children, and the elderly to detention camps with poor conditions. 

The goal was to break the Kurdish resistance and remove Kurdish identity from strategic parts of northern Iraq. 

One of the most horrific aspects of the Anfal campaign was the use of chemical weapons, including mustard gas and nerve agents, against civilian populations. 

The most infamous attack took place in the Kurdish town of Halabja on March 16, 1988, when chemical weapons killed thousands of civilians, including many women and children. 

These chemical attacks weren’t isolated; many smaller villages were also targeted. 

There’s no exact number of how many people were killed, but researchers and historians estimate that

50,000–100,000 people died, according to Human Rights Watch.  Kurdish officials sometimes estimate up to 182,000 deaths. 

Likewise, thousands of villages were demolished, and at least one million Kurds were displaced from their homes. 

The Iraqi government said it was fighting an “insurgency,” meaning Kurdish rebels, but the scale and methods went far beyond normal warfare.

Entire civilian communities were attacked.  Mass graves were later discovered containing victims.  The goal included changing the population makeup (Arabization) in parts of northern Iraq. 

Many historians and human rights groups conclude that destroying a group’s physical and cultural existence fits the definition of genocide. 

After Saddam Hussein’s government fell in 2003, evidence of mass graves and atrocities continued to emerge. Some officials were tried for crimes against humanity; Ali Hassan al-Majid was convicted and executed for his role. 

Every year, Kurds and others remember the victims with memorials and ceremonies, especially around the anniversary of the Halabja attack. The Anfal campaign remains a powerful reminder of the impact of state violence on civilians. 

The Anfal campaign is studied in schools and universities around the world as an example of State-led ethnic persecution. The horrors of chemical warfare against civilians and the long-term effects of genocide on communities.

It shows how politics, war, and prejudice can lead to devastating human suffering, and why international laws and protections for civilians exist today.