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Riot marks 18th anniversary of chemical attack on Halabja
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3/16/2006 Several Agencies
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Nearly 2,000 angry Kurdish demonstrators today went on a rampage and badly damaged a monument to the 5,000 people killed in the poison gas attack on Halabja by Saddam Hussein’s army in Iraq 18 years ago.
Police fired live ammunition into the air, killing one person and wounding at least eight, in a bid to stop the mayhem by residents, angry over what they see as the regional government’s failure to rebuild the area.
The demonstrators marched through the streets of Halabja chanting “down, down with the government”.
In addition to killing an estimated 5,000 people, Saddam’s poison gas bombs left nearly 10,000 injured and suffering the after-affects. The then leader ordered the attack as part of a scorched-earth campaign to crush a Kurdish rebellion in northern Iraq.
Police fired into the air after the riot began at the Halabja Monument in the town center, while demonstrators threw stones and stormed into the monument. They removed hundreds of pictures of their loved ones killed in the 1988 attack.
The demonstrators badly damaged the inside of the monument, set it on fire and left. The exterior of the 100-foot triangular structure was not damaged.
“This monument has become a symbol for poverty,” said an angry demonstrator as he threw large stones, claiming the local government was using the memory of the Halabja attack for its own interests.
This year’s anniversary came with Saddam standing trial for crimes against humanity and Kurdish leaders holding senior positions in the US-backed government.
President Jalal Talabani, a former Kurdish guerrilla leader, said “the Halabja anniversary inspires us to continue our struggle against dictatorship”.
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