Halabjeh City

Halabjeh city is bounded to Soron mountains from north, to Balambou mountains from south, Tireh Roodi  and Shaghan mountains from east and the mountains of Shakh Teimour Zhenan and Sadeh Darbandi Khan lake from west.

Halabjeh has a population of 70.000 persons, which is located in the Soleimaniyeh province of Iraq . In the South Western, area of Darbandi Khan lake there is a zone which is covered with forests and the Halabjeh city is located among these fertile areas. As a result, the view of this city has become so beautiful. In these lands the people have the jobs of animal husbandry and agriculture.

The cities of Halbjeh and Khormal are joined to the Soleimaniyeh road of Baghdad which is named Baghdad-Soleimanieyh-Karkook road  by a graveled road. Halabjeh and Khormal have observed and witnessed the conflicts of fighters and Kurdish Mojaheds from long time ago, in fact these two cities have had to show their reactions against these fights.

Halabjeh is located in a flat land which is set in the heart of Soron and Malkhor mountain. The biggest factory which is existed in this city is Tobacco factory. This city is located almost 25 kilometers away from the Iran-Iraq border. This city is counted as one of the important preparation centers for the north eastern conflicts of Iraq .

Dojileh (Sirvan)

Dojileh town has an oldness of 80 years. Its population is 20.000 persons. Sirvan zone is located in the northern part of Halabjeh and in the eastern part of Darbandi Khan lake. This city has four mosques and an Elmiyeh school with the capacity of 600 clergies. So the majority people of this city are religious.

Dojileh town is located in northern part of Halabjeh which is 10 kilometers away from it. It is situated near  the asphalt road of Khormal-Seyed Sadegh and its buildings and houses are in the either sides of this road. In the eastern side of this road, the housing areas have been provided with a good quality and the local people of these regions are mostly farmers. They use the water of Darbandi Khan lake for their agricultural irrigations. No one was living in this city during the bombardment.

There are some military and economic establishments such as the important garrison of Zamghi between this city and Halabjeh. The garrison of Zamghi is protected by two large towers and its buildings are made of stones.

Dojileh town was occupied by Islamic fighters on Thursday of March 17, 1988.

Khormal

The Khormal city of Iraq belongs to Soleimaniyeh  province of this country which is located in the northeastern part of Halabjeh city. This city is divided into two old and new sections. This city after a revolution which took place a few months ago was collapsed. The new section of this city has a population of 15 thousands people and many of these people had to leave this city due to the pressures which were performed on them by Iraq 's regime. These people had to abandon their own cities and go to the surrounding areas. This city is one of the best  zones of Iraq climatically and its electricity is provided by Darbandi Khan Power.

Khormal city was occupied by Islamic military troops on March 16, 1988.

References:

Marsiyeh Halabjeh, Nosratollah Mahmoud Zadeh, publisher: War Engineering Support of Constructional Jihad Organization, the unit for registration of relics by the cooperation of cultural press of Raja, Date of Publish: April 1988, page 10.

Ramadan's Disaster

The movement of Halabjeh's people in spite of severe preventions of Baathist regime of Iraq was formed broadly. On that morning the speakers of the mosques never kept quiet for a moment. They would broadcast whatever the clergies announced. The clergies joined the people of streets and then they protested in Soleimaniyeh. Since the authorities of Soleimaniyeh had realized the situations and conditions tried to avoid these protests. The dimensions of these conflicts were gradually improved. The Baathis regime of Iraq attempted so much to prevent people from their activities. It used different methods and policies for these actions. On March 16, 1988, the Iraqi Ba'ath regime attacked Halabjeh , a city in Iraqi-Kurdistan, with chemical weapons, killing an estimated 5,000 civilians and injuring 10,000. Thirteen years after this massacre, the people of Halabjeh continue to suffer from exceedingly high rates of cancer, severe headaches, birth defects, etc.

The chemical bombardment of Halabjeh is a crime against humanity, which must not be forgotten. The silence maintained by governments and the media on  Halabjeh  must be condemned, and March 16 must be transformed into an annual day of mass protest against the Iraqi Ba'ath regime and all producers of chemical weaponry.

 This regime benefited from different plans such as evacuation of villages and the cities where Kurdish people were living in and instead replacing Arabic men instead of them. Many rebellions took place in Halabjeh. The clergies of Halabjeh directed these revolutions against the Saddam's regime. On that time the population was increasing moment by moment.

This city had been covered by a terrible fear. The people had to shelter to the mountains while they were crying. The number of military troops of Saddam was increased in this city, so as a result the people of Halabjeh had to immigrate to the mountains and other areas. The people had to leave those areas because they knew if they stay in Halabjeh city they will be killed.  

Let’s go back to 1988, when the patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdish Democratic Party had united and had joined in Iran ’s war efforts against Iraq . Although Iraq had engaged in chemical warfare during its conflict, the deaths of civilians in Halabjeh provoked condemnation from throughout the world. Iraq denied the charges, but the campaign to attribute the atrocities to Iraq was already in full swing.

In the Spring of 1988, an anti-Iraq campaign was heating up, with various officials resurrecting the allegation that Saddam Hussein had gassed his own people. I am concerned such a campaign may be underway again, now that the U.S.-imposed sanctions on Iraq are beginning to break down. As a respected journalist, I think you have an obligation to provide the evidence to back up allegations such as the claim that 50,000 to 100,000 Kurds were gassed by Saddam Hussein. Check as much as you wish, but you will find no evidence for that charge. I enclose here memos I sent to National Security Advisor Sandy Berger and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms in which I pointed out how recklessly U.S. policy toward Baghdad was being manipulated by the circulation of such charges. Please do some digging, lest you become a mere instrument of those in pursuit of a new offensive against Iraq .