Pshdar Genocide – 1989

Pshdar Genocide – 1989

Destruction of the City and Forced Displacement of the People of Pshdar

The district of Pshdar is one of the districts in the Raparin administration, located within Sulaymaniyah province in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Its administrative center is the town of Qaladze, and the district consists of six sub-districts.

After the Anfal genocide and chemical bombings, the Iraqi government during the Ba’ath regime continued its policy of destroying Kurdistan and eliminating its people. If we closely examine the events following the end of the Iran-Iraq War (8 August 1988) and the announcement of a supposed general amnesty on paper (not in practice) on 6 September 1988, we see that the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein never abided by these proclamations and continued its criminal acts.

The genocide in Pshdar involved mass displacement and killings and began on 20 June 1989 as part of the fifth stage of the deportation campaign. The operation started in Sangasar and quickly expanded to all towns and villages in the district of Pshdar. Civilians were forcibly evacuated and distributed across 17 large-scale internment camps. After the population was removed, Iraqi army forces used TNT explosives to destroy a large number of homes, schools, and mosques, turning the area into a “prohibited zone.” Those who attempted to return were arrested or forcibly disappeared.

The people of Qaladze and the entire district of Pshdar were transferred to camps in western Erbil (Khabat Camp) and western Sulaymaniyah (Bazian Camps). Civilians were strictly prohibited from returning to their areas, and those who attempted to do so were arrested or disappeared by the Iraqi forces.

According to a confidential Ba’ath Party document dated 11 March 1989, a meeting was held at the office of the Northern Organization of the Ba’ath Party attended by governors, military commanders, and intelligence officials. On the following day, the meeting minutes were sent to the military intelligence directorate. Article four of the document explicitly referenced the transfer of the entire population of the Pshdar district, including Sangasar and surrounding areas, to designated internment camps.

News of the forced deportation of Qaladze sparked global reactions. Media in France, the UK, Germany, Israel, and others covered the issue. Kurdish institutions abroad and diaspora communities increased pressure on the Iraqi government through international channels. The deportation of Pshdar gained international attention, and representatives of the Iraqi government in foreign countries faced shame and criticism. Kurdish parties and diaspora groups continuously issued reports warning the world about the dangers of the Ba’ath regime.

Despite these efforts, the Ba’ath regime continued its plans. On 15 and 16 April 1989, through its institutions, the government notified residents of the Towasuran and Pamlaki camps that they would be transferred to other camps in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah. By early June, the Towasuran and Pamlaki camps were emptied, and the residents of Sangasar and its surrounding villages were relocated to large-scale camps in Khabat, Jadida, Baharka, Daratu in Erbil, and Bazian 1, Bazian 2, and Bainjan in Sulaymaniyah.

Eventually, the entire area was evacuated, and on 26 June 1989, Qaladze and its nearby villages were forcibly transferred to camps along the Erbil-Sulaymaniyah border. The process of displacement and destruction continued. A witness stated: “I saw with my own eyes on 13 June 1990, as we surrendered ourselves as deserters; the enemy watched us. The area was forbidden; no civilian could enter. That evening, we were transported to the area. The place was leveled; fires were burning, and the remnants of the area were in ruins. They tried to kill us with fire since the telephone cables were still burning.”

The witness continued: “Only the water candle in the Sangasar area remained, where the soldiers used to fetch water. I saw the third barrel still hanging on a burned tree, but I couldn’t reach it.”

The deportation of Pshdar was particularly egregious since Iraq no longer had any military justification. The Iran-Iraq War had ended. Yet even earlier, between 1974-1977 and in 1987, the regime had evacuated the villages under the pretext of border protection, pushing people as deep as 30 km into the “prohibited zones.”

The regime aimed to strip people of revolutionary life, trap them in camps resembling prisons, and subject them to a slow death. This chauvinist strategy for scorched-earth destruction was part of a systematic plan that continued through 1991. Its core goal was to eliminate Kurdish national identity in contrast to Arab nationalism. From the monarchy to the Ba’athist period, this policy was consistently pursued and remains in practice in some areas today.

While Pshdar and Qaladze were destroyed under the guise of border protection, Arab cities like Basra and Faw were rebuilt and invested in. Despite all the crimes—chemical attacks, Anfal, deportations, and Arabization—the regime failed to crush the will of the Kurdish people.

The deportation of Qaladze had lasting effects, especially on the broader Pshdar region, causing deep scars that remain today—socially, economically, politically, culturally, and agriculturally.

Legal Case: The Pshdar Genocide at the Iraqi High Criminal Court

The case file concerning the crimes committed in Pshdar and Qaladze, including the mass killings and forced deportations of residents and surrounding villages, was submitted to the Iraqi High Criminal Court. On 26 December 2013, after reviewing the evidence and documentation, the Court declared the events as genocide. However, as with many other such crimes, true justice has not been realized. The perpetrators have not been punished, and no reparations have been provided to the survivors.