Anfal as a Crisis - based Mortality: Documenting Anfal Invasion in Iraqi Kurdistan 1988

This paper explores a contemporary political-demographic event occurred in 1988 Iraqi Kurdistan under ruling Saddam Hussein which is called Anfal. It appeared not only as a political and military event, but also as a demographic crisis. About 182000 people were dead and the number of refugees exceeded much more than victims. A great invasion was conducted in two stages and eight attacks, from February to September 1988, including Halabja chemical bombardment. More than 4000 villages were completely destroyed and their residents were prohibited to go their homeland. Anfal brought about several socio-demographic consequences for Kurdish society including: increasing short–term mortality, forced rural-urban and international migration, increasing various diseases, increasing widow and orphaned population. The most important characteristic of Anfal was reflected in its gender – age strategies.
This paper, based on few statistical existing data and governmental and nongovernmental documents, tries to provide a clear description of this socio-demographic disaster,particularly mortality, and reconstruct it as crisis-based mortality.