ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish leaders and officials on Monday hailed the recognition of Halabja as Iraq’s 19th province as a long-overdue act of justice and a tribute to the city’s sacrifices.
Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, in a statement relayed by the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA), extended his “warmest congratulations to our people in Halabja province on the occasion of the esteemed Parliament's approval of the law granting Halabja provincial status.”
“We see this historic step as a long-awaited justice and a positive step towards achieving justice and retribution for the blood of the martyrs who fell in the most heinous crime known to modern history,” Rashid added.
The Iraqi parliament officially passed the law on Monday, finalizing a process that had been delayed for more than a decade.
In December 2013, the Iraqi Council of Ministers approved a proposal to make Halabja the country’s 19th province, separating it from Sulaimani province. However, political disputes between Erbil and Baghdad, along with divisions among Sunni and Shiite lawmakers, stalled the bill for over ten years.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Monday hailed Halabja’s elevation to provincial status, calling it “a source of great joy for us and for all the people of Kurdistan.” He expressed hope that the move would pave the way “for a better life, development, reconstruction, and progress for Halabja in all areas.”
While the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) had declared Halabja a province in 2014, the decision had not been fully recognized by the Iraqi parliament. In 2018, Iraq’s Ministry of Interior acknowledged its status, but legislative ratification had remained pending.
President Barzani stated, “We had already begun the process of recognizing it [Halabja] as the fourth province in the Kurdistan Region,” noting that the law’s passage on Monday marked the completion of the formal federal recognition.
Meanwhile, Masoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), welcomed the decision to grant Halabja provincial status.
“I commend the Kurdish factions in the Iraqi parliament for unanimously securing this achievement for the people of Halabja and Kurdistan,” the prominent Kurdish leader said in a statement published by Barzani headquarters.
Halabja stands as a potent symbol of Kurdish resilience. On March 16, 1988, near the end of the eight-year Iran-Iraq War, Iraqi forces under the regime of Saddam Hussein bombed Halabja with chemical weapons. The devastating attack killed at least 5,000 people - mostly women and children - and injured thousands more.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Monday congratulated “the struggling, sacrificial and oppressed people” of Halabja.
In a statement he posted on X, PM Barzani expressed commitment to continued follow up with “the federal government [in Baghdad] to serve the region properly and allocate a special budget for further reconstruction of Halabja.”
Deputy Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Qubad Talabani also praised the parliamentary vote, stating, “I would like to thank the leadership [of the Iraqi] parliament and all the MPs who voted for the bill.”
Talabani called on the KRG and Kurdish lawmakers in Iraq’s legislature to coordinate effectively to ensure Halabja’s fair share of the federal budget.
In a similar sentiment, Bafel Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), remarked that the decision to recognize Halabja as a province serves as a “reminder that we all have a common destiny and history full of sacrifice and pride.”
“The proud people of Halabja deserve all the rewards and services. I assure you that we will continue to protect your rights in the same spirit as we have always been with you in the past,” Bafel Talabani added.
For his part, Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) lawmaker Muthana Amin described the passing of the law as a long-overdue admission of the atrocities committed against Halabja.
“[The passing of the bill] is an admission of the genocide of our people,” he told Rudaw’s Halkawt Aziz in Baghdad. “Why has Halabja been made into a province you ask? It is because it has been genocided.”
New Generation lawmaker Srwa Abdulwahid noted that “the road to this recognition has been long, with many challenges and issues along the way, thank God that we were able to overcome them and pass the vote.” She added that the law will take effect once it is published in the Official Iraqi Gazette.
Speaking to Rudaw on Monday, Halabja mayor and acting governor Nuxsha Nasih extended her “warm congratulations to the entirety of the Kurdish nation” and “to the families of the martyrs of Halabja.” She added that the souls of the thousands who suffocated during the chemical attack “are today at peace.”
Former Halabja governor Azad Tofiq described Monday’s vote as an implicit recognition of the past crimes against the city.
“The families of the martyrs, missing children and victims of chemical weapons must be compensated,” he stated, urging “Iraq to fulfill its obligations towards Halabja province, especially regarding budget allocation.”
The Italian Consulate General in Erbil also praised the decision to elevate Halabja to provincial status, calling it “a historic step that honors the memory and the future of the city.” The consulate affirmed Italy’s commitment to supporting Halabja in terms of development, peace, and cooperation.
Of note, the gruesome chemical attack on Halabja was part of the broader Anfal campaign, launched by Saddam Hussein’s regime in the late 1980s. The campaign, carried out in eight phases across the Kurdistan Region, resulted in the deaths of over 182,000 Kurds and the destruction of more than 4,500 villages.
