◆ SpookStack

1631-HQ-1462938 military deserters or, as withl | gamily, they were related to members of the political Opposition. Although the Traqi Government’s intention was to force those who Opposed the regime (likel —_] to surrender, the relocations failed to produce th desired effect. Instead of succumbing to the pressure, family and others adapted to their surrounding and simply started over, Other members of family were also relocated. Between 1985 and 1987, mother, his sister-in-law and _ her children, and finally his sister were al] deported. Sister was deported because she was accused of providing assistance to the Peshmerga by working as a seamstress. On August 18, 1988, immediately after the end of the Iran-Iraq War, the Iraqi government began massing its forces in Badinan. In the following days, word spread from the surrounding villages that the Iragi army was on the move. On August 23, 1988, Iraqi forces attacked Avoke, a small village on the gouth Side of Gara Mountain near Spindar, with chemical weapons. and his family were in Maraneh, about three or four kilometers east of Avoke. Maraneh was Situated at a higher elevation than Avoke, witnessed the Iraqi planes attack Avoke first-hand. He Saw the bombs fall and the smoke rise from the explosions. Although initially black, the smoke dissipated into white and yellow tints as it rose, heard from people who returned from Avoke shortly after the attacks that the Iraqi forces had used chemical weapons. Although most of the residents had fled to caves prior to the attack, the chemical gas killed two villagers and affected nearly everyone. Some had difficulty breathing and most had blisters on their faces, arms, and genital areas. The gas attack also killed some sheep and wild turkeys in the area. Even the landscape was affected. Everything appeared as if it had been burned. Although they did not show signs of an actual fire, the trees and leaves appeared dried up. The gas attack spread over a large area. About thirty minutes after the attack started, the wind, which was blowing from the direction of Avoke, carried with it an unnatural, rotten smell. In addition, later in the day on August 24, oticed that the tops of the trees near Maraneh took on the same dried appearance as those in Avoke as a result of the drifting chemical gas. Some of the people with[ also began to experience difficulty breathing. 54