Hussein To Stand Trial For Halabjah Gassing

Iraqi prosecutors say the campaign by Hussein's regime killed 100,000 Kurds. The defendants include Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as Chemical Ali.

Hussein and seven other defendants are currently on trial on charges of executing 148 inhabitants of the Shi'ite village of Al-Dujayl following an assassination attempt there against the then Iraqi leader in 1982.

They could face the death penalty if convicted in the Al-Dujayl case. That trial is set to resume on July 10. A U.S. official has said a verdict could be issued by mid-September.

(AP, Reuters, AFP)

Iraq's Kurdish Region

KURDISH AWAKENING: The ethnic Kurdish region in the northern part of Iraq has struggled in recent years to reestablish its cultural and political identity after decades of oppression under the regime of deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. In December, RFE/RL correspondent Charles Recknagel traveled to this area and filed several reports:

Relative Peace Underscores Issue Of Kurdish Region's Future

Kurdish Culture Begins To Flourish In Kurdistan Region

Kurds Ponder How To Strengthen Autonomy After Elections

Irbil’s Kurds Live On A Hill Of Undiscovered Treasures

THE COMPLETE STORY: RFE/RL's complete coverage of events in Iraq and that country's ongoing transition.