„Al-Anfal“ is the title of the eighth sura of the Koran. It revealed to the prophet Muhammad how the bounty, which the Muslims took in the war against the “unbelieving”, should bedivided among his followers. This referred to their families and their belongings, including women and children. The Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein issued a decree in which he authorized his cousin Ali Hassan Al-Majid to wage war on the Kurdish people. In reference to the eighth sura of the Koran, he called this war „Al-Anfal”.

The documentary Al-Anfal sheds light on a forgotten war, which Saddam Hussein waged against the Kurdish people in the years 1988 until 1991.

Al-Anfal shows the methods Hussein and his Baath party used, and gives the victims a voice. The film documents the terror, which cost the lives of 182’000 Kurds, with extensive archive material.

“We had to stand in a row and march. The soldiers walked next to us. There were two lieutenants, Mohammed and Abbas. When we arrived there, one of the lieutenants shouted in Arabic: “Stand still and turn around!” Simultaneously, he ordered his soldiers: “Shoot!” (says Karim Naiyef).

The Baath regime in Iraq has disappeared; however, the regime of the sister-party remains in power in Syria.