Kuremi Massacre

The **Kuremi Massacre** was one of the chapters of the **Anfal Campaign** waged by the Iraqi regime against the Kurdish people in 1988. The massacre took place in the village of **Kuremi** in the Kurdistan Region, where residents were besieged, arrested, and many were executed en masse. This campaign was part of a broader policy of **genocide** targeting the Kurdish population, resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent people. Despite the passage of years, the **Kuremi Massacre** remains a symbol of the tragedy endured by the Kurdish people under the Iraqi regime.

## Historical background

Since the establishment of the Iraqi state in 1921, the Kurdish people have endured continuous oppression and marginalization by successive Iraqi governments. Kurdish regions in Iraq were subjected to policies aimed at erasing their cultural and geographical identity, in an effort to diminish Kurdish influence in those areas. Under the rule of President Saddam Hussein, these policies became increasingly violent, with the regime adopting practices of genocide and forced displacement.

These policies aimed to eliminate the Kurdish identity and undermine any attempts to establish independence or autonomy in Kurdish regions. The **Anfal Campaign**, launched in 1988, was one of the most prominent episodes of repression faced by the Kurdish people. It involved the widespread use of **chemical weapons** and the systematic destruction of Kurdish villages.

On August 27, 1988, the village of Korimi in the Kurdistan Region witnessed one of the most horrific massacres committed by the Iraqi regime during the Anfal Campaign, a genocidal campaign aimed at eliminating the Kurdish people in Iraq. Before the campaign, the village was home to about 150 Kurdish families, living a simple life in relative security. But this peaceful life soon turned into hell when Iraqi forces began their brutal campaign.

When the villagers realized that the Iraqi attack was inevitable, they tried to flee towards the Turkish border in search of safety, but they were surprised by the border being closed by the Turkish border guards, leaving them trapped with no hope of survival. Their fate was certain death. About 300 villagers were arrested and separated from each other. The women and children were taken to the nearby village of Mankesh, while 33 of the men were taken to remote fields where they were shot. Only 6 of the men survived, but they were seriously injured and disfigured beyond description.

The Iraqi soldiers were shooting them mercilessly, most of them even tried to escape, but were killed instantly by random gunfire. It didn't stop there, as the soldiers fired additional bullets into their heads to ensure they were killed once and for all. Those dark moments were more than just a massacre, they were a systematic genocide aimed at eliminating anyone who stood in the way of the regime.

In the years that followed, mass graves were discovered containing the remains of many victims, including Fayez Taha Saeed, whose fate was confirmed by his wife after the discovery of the victims' clothes in 1992. This discovery was a confirmation of the loss of loved ones, as even after many years, the fate of thousands of victims remains unknown, and their families remain in a state of loss and dispersion.

The survivors, however, went through another tragedy. After they managed to escape to the mountains, they lived for 11 days in tragic conditions, with no food or water other than what they were able to collect from wild grapes and water. Eventually, they were recaptured and taken to detention camps such as Baharka and Nazarka, where they suffered from hunger, disease, and torture. Women and children were separated from the men, and many of the men were sent to unknown locations where they are believed to have been killed in further liquidations.

Following the 1991 Gulf War, survivors were relocated to the Kurdistan Region, but their suffering did not end. Many of them returned to their villages, but the memories of the massacre still haunted them, and the Koremi massacre remains one of the bloodiest chapters in the history of the Anfal campaign. Those dark days remain a witness to the brutality that befell the Kurdish people, leaving wounds that cannot heal and an indelible mark.

## The campaign

The Anfal campaign caused massive destruction to the community of Koremi, with many innocent civilians killed, their homes and lands destroyed, and many families displaced. Survivors of the massacre suffered severe psychological and social repercussions, including the loss of family members and loved ones, as well as the destruction of their lives and futures.

The Koremi massacre was part of the Anfal campaign launched by the Iraqi regime in 1988 with the aim of eliminating Kurdish identity in Iraq . This campaign included systematic genocide against Kurdish civilians, and was carried out using brutal methods such as mass executions of men and young men, forced displacement of families, and destruction of villages, in addition to the use of chemical weapons to destroy Kurdish villages and kill civilians.

The massacre in Koremi was not just a normal military operation, but was part of a systematic policy to erase the Kurdish identity and destroy Kurdish communities in northern Iraq, making it one of the most heinous crimes against humanity committed by the Iraqi regime against the Kurds.

## Infobox (civilian attack)

- **title**: Kuremi massacre
- **partof**: Anfal Campaign
- **image size**: 300px
- **image upright**: 1.5
- **alt**: A relative finds a mass grave in Kuremi
- **caption**: A relative finds a mass grave in Kuremi, revealing the horrific aftermath of the genocide
- **map size**: 250px
- **map alt**: Map showing the location of Kuremi in Iraq
- **map caption**: Kuremi's location within Iraq
- **location**: Kuremi , Kurdistan Region , Iraq
- **target**: Kurdish civilians
- **date**: August 27, 1988
- **time**: Unknown
- **timezone**: UTC+3
- **type**: Massacre, Genocide
- **fatalities**: 33 men executed, hundreds affected (exact number of fatalities still unknown)
- **injuries**: Numerous survivors suffered severe injuries, with many left disfigured
- **victims**: Kurdish civilians, including men, women, and children
- **perpetrators**: Iraqi government forces, primarily the Iraqi military
- **assailants**: Iraqi government forces, Iraqi military, units involved in the Anfal Campaign
- **weapons**: Firearms, explosives, chemical weapons (used in other parts of the Anfal Campaign)
- **motive**: Ethnic cleansing, Genocide, Suppression of Kurdish rebellion
- **inquiry**: Limited investigations have been carried out, but there has been no comprehensive judicial process
- **notes**: The massacre in Kuremi was part of the larger Anfal Campaign, a series of systematic operations carried out by the Iraqi government aimed at exterminating or forcibly displacing the Kurdish population. This included mass killings, chemical attacks, forced disappearances, and the destruction of villages.