WREATHS were laid in Iraq’s Kurdistan region today in memory of the 5,000 people killed in the Halabja chemical attack more than three decades ago.
Relatives of the victims, survivors and government officials marched from the centre of the city, which borders Iran, to the martyrs’ graveyard where the flowers were laid.
In a statement, Masrour Barzani, prime minister of the autonomous region, pledged that his government would continue to urge the Iraqi federal authorities to compensate the survivors and the victims’ families.
“Halabja has become an identity and symbol of the struggle and sacrifices of the Kurdistan [region’s] people in the world,” he said, adding that more must be done to prevent a genocide of the Kurds.
Govt Official in Iraq: Hungary Helps Scheme May Serve as Model
Pope Francis’ visit to Iraq has channelled global interest to the situation of Christians in the Middle East and the Hungary Helps aid programme, which may serve as a model for other humanitarian programmes and governments, a Hungarian government official told MTI on Tuesday.
Returning from Iraq today, Tristan Azbej, the state secretary responsible for aiding persecuted Christians, said his trip had three purposes. Firstly, he wished to attend the pope’s historic visit, which he said offered a beacon of hope to Iraq’s Christian community, highlighted their hardships and directed global interest to the Hungarian model of assistance.
ASIA/IRAQ - Papa Francesco a Mosul, Qaraqosh e Erbil: Cristo opera in questo suo popolo santo e fedele fides.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from fides.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
ROME: Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, will become the first pontiff ever to set foot in Iraq, where he hopes to encourage the dwindling Christian community to remain in their ancient homeland while also extending a hand of friendship to the Islamic world.
The three-day “pilgrimage” comes despite a recent spike in coronavirus cases in Iraq and an upsurge in violence. Francis arrives just days after a rocket attack on the Ain Al-Assad base in Iraq’s western desert, which hosts US-led coalition troops.
One civilian contractor was killed in Wednesday’s barrage, which the US has blamed on Iran-backed militias. Benedict XVI, who resigned as pontiff eight years ago, warned in an interview on Monday that the visit is “a dangerous trip: for reasons of security and for coronavirus.”