ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States, United Kingdom and Italy have welcomed the Iraqi parliament’s decision to officially recognize Halabja as the country’s 19th province and the Kurdistan Region’s fourth.
In a statement it shared on X, the US Consulate General in Erbil on Tuesday congratulated the “residents of Halabja” on the key decision, adding, “We are encouraged by the Iraq’s parliament’s vote on the bill to recognize Halabja as a province.”
"We look forward to continued discussions on U.S. educational and economic engagement in Halabja,” the American consular mission added.
For its part, the British Consulate General in Erbil on Tuesday hailed the Iraqi legislature’s move as “an important and positive step,” extending warm congratulations to the people of Halabja and the Kurdistan Region.
A day prior, on Monday, Iraq’s parliament passed the long-awaited bill, elevating Halabja’s provincial status in a session attended by 178 out of the legislature’s 329 members.
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.
Meanwhile, in 2014, the Kurdistan Region’s Council of Ministers had declared Halabja a province, recognizing it as the Region’s fourth. Four years later, in 2018, the Iraqi Ministry of Interior formally recognized Halabja’s provincial status, but formal ratification by the Iraqi parliament remained pending until Monday.
The Italian consular mission to 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 General affirmed Italy’s commitment to supporting Halabja’s development, peace, and cooperation.
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.
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.
