(Adnkronos) – Italy’s ambassador to Iraq, Niccolo Fontana, and its Consul General in the semi-autonomous northern Kurdistan region, Tommaso Sansone, held talks in Halabja on Thursday with Kurdistan’ governor, Nuxha Nasih, which centred on bolstering bilateral political dialogue and opportunities for Italian businesses.
“First time in #Halabja. Many thanks to Governor @nuxshanasih for the warm hospitality and the inspiring discussion. Focus on how to strengthen our political dialogue, while fostering economic opportunities for Italian companies, notably in the agricultural sector,” the embassy wrote on X.
Fontana, Sansone and Hasih travelled to Halabja for a wreath-laying ceremony to pay homage to the victims of the 16 March 1988 massacre when thousands of Kurds were killed during a large-scale Iraqi chemical attack. The massacre took place during the Anfal campaign carried out on the orders of late president Saddam Hussein at the end of the Iran-Iraq war in a bid to eliminate Kurdish rebel groups.
The Halabja massacre was: “A tragedy that calls us to the duty of remembrance, so that such atrocities may never happen again,” Italy’s embassy wrote on X in a separate post charting the wreath-laying ceremony.
Many scholars and rights groups have called the Anfal campaign genocide or ethnic cleansing.
