When Kurds Were Almost Completely Decimated

 Nadene Goldfoot

Remember the Iran-Iraq War starting in 1980 that fought till teen aged boys were left as fighters from both sides.  I made aliyah in September 1980, and this war kept the Arabs so busy they didn't bother attacking Israel, at least not that I noticed. 

To date, the Halabja massacre remains the largest chemical weapons attack directed against a civilian-populated region, the Kurds,  in human history, killing between 3,200 and 5,000 people and injuring 7,000 to 10,000 more. Preliminary results from surveys of the affected areas showed increased rates of cancer and birth defects in the years since the attack took place. 

These people are the closest in DNA to Jews!  They may be part of our lost 10 Tribes of Israel!                                   

Saddam Hussein, the deposed president of Iraq, was captured by the United States military in the town of Ad-Dawr, Iraq on 13 December 2003. The military operation to capture him was codenamed Operation Red Dawn, named after the 1984 American film Red Dawn.

The Iran-Iraq War was a devastating conflict that lasted from 1980 to 1988, primarily driven by territorial disputes, religious differences, and the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution. Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, invaded Iran, initiating the war, but it evolved into a bloody stalemate, with both sides suffering heavy losses and resorting to brutal tactics, including chemical weapons. The war concluded with a United Nations-brokered ceasefire, but it left a lasting impact on both nations and the region. In 1980, Iran was transitioning to an Islamic Republic under the leadership of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. 

Northern Iraq was an area of general unrest during the early stage of the Iran–Iraq War, with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) militias joining forces, with Iranian support, in 1982 and 1983, respectively.  The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) are both political parties based in Iraqi Kurdistan, a region within Iraq. They are the two main Kurdish parties in the region and have historically held significant power. 

• 1982: One source mentions that the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) had approximately 5,000 fighters during this period. Another indicates that Kurdish rebels were actively engaged in fighting against Iraqi forces, and launched a major offensive in the Biara and Shram areas.
• 1983-1986: During the later Kurdish rebellions, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) combined their forces (Peshmerga) against Saddam Hussein's regime. They received logistical and sometimes military support from Iran. The Iraq army used overwhelming force against them, including chemical weapons and the destruction of villages, resulting in massive casualties and displacement of Kurds.

 From 1985, the Iraqi Ba'athist government under Saddam Hussein decided to eradicate pockets of Kurdish insurgents in the north and strike down the peshmerga rebels by all means possible, including large-scale punishment of civilians and the use of chemical weapons. The Halabja event was also part of Iraqi efforts to counter-attack Kurdish and Iranian forces in the final stages of Operation Zafar 7.

• 1986-1988: During the Al-Anfal Campaign, the combined Peshmerga forces of the KDP and PUK were estimated at 45,000 and 12,000, respectively. 
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Resource:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halabja_massacre

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983%E2%80%931986_Kurdish_rebellions_in_Iraq#:~:text=The%201983%E2%80%931986%20Kurdish%20rebellions,resulted%20in%20stalemate%20by%201985.