Several top Kurdish leaders on April 4 commemorated the 44th anniversary of the Faili Kurdish genocide and called for compensation for the victims from the Iraqi federal government.
We honor the memory of the victims of the Feyli Kurds genocide, who were killed in a horrific wave because they were Kurdish and supported the Kurdistani revolution.
— Masrour Barzani (@masrourbarzani) April 4, 2024
It is past time for the federal government to compensate the families. pic.twitter.com/SBFBJOiKjb
“We solemnly remember our Feyli (Faili) Kurdish brothers and sisters who suffered arrest, murder, disappearance, and the loss of their citizenship under the brutal campaigns of the former Iraqi regime, targeted for their Kurdish identity and support for our cause,” Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said in a statement.
He underlined that it is “crucial for the Iraqi government to fulfill its moral and constitutional responsibilities by compensating the Feyli (Faili) Kurds and all victims who suffered under the previous al-Ba’ath regime.”
Read More: Unveiling the Genocide of the Faili Kurds: Urgent Calls for International Action
In May 2023, an international conference on the genocide of the Faili Kurds was held in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region.
The Faili Kurds, also known as Kurdish Shi’a, form a distinct subgroup within the broader Kurdish community. Predominantly located in areas across Iraq and Iran, their name originates from the Persian term “Fayli,” reflecting their historical ties to the Fayli tribe.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Faili Kurds faced deliberate persecution by the Ba’ath regimes, leading to forced displacement of nearly 600,000 individuals to Iran.
44 years ago, the Genocide campaign plunged history into darkness, targeting 12,000 #Fayli Kurds by the Ba'ath regime. Forcibly expelled, executed and stripped citizenship from tens of thousands. In solemn tribute, we honor the memory of all the martyrs of Kurdistan. pic.twitter.com/bwSNemDp3C
— Safeen Dizayee (@SafeenDizayee) April 4, 2024
This resulted in shattered families and lost livelihoods. Approximately 22,000 Failis went missing during this period. The Faili Kurdish community continues to suffer, demanding international recognition and justice.
Read More: Postwar Middle East Genocide
“44 years ago, the Genocide campaign plunged history into darkness, targeting 12,000 Fayli (Faili) Kurds by the Ba’ath regime. Forcibly expelled, executed and stripped citizenship from tens of thousands. In solemn tribute, we honor the memory of all the martyrs of Kurdistan,” Safeen Dizayee, Head of the KRG Department of Foreign Relations, wrote in a post on X on April 4.
Note to the media: The term is not Faili Kurds. In last year’s conference we discussed that the right term to use is #FailiGenocide. Failies are Kurds, there is no Faili Arab, Faili Fars or Faili Turk. Also, genocide was not because they were shias, it was because they were Kurds
— Sazan Mandalawi☀️ (@Sazan_Mandalawi) April 4, 2024
In a post on X, Sazan Mandalawi, a Faili Kurd, criticized the media coverage of the anniversary of the Faili genocide, underlining that the Faili were targeted because they were Kurds. “Failies are Kurds, there is no Faili Arab, Faili Fars or Faili Turk. Also, genocide was not because they were Shias, it was because they were Kurds.”
“I have spoken to so many people who tell stories of their husbands and sons being abducted. Stories of torture of prisons, women harassed, starvation, humiliation and of course homes and businesses destroyed and confiscated. Why? Purely because they were KURDS,” she underlined.
