Feyli Kurds genocide

Culture of origin: Kurdish · Historical

Holiday sources: Kurdish · Lur

The Feyli Kurds, mostly Shia, lived in Baghdad, Khanaqin, Mandali and along the Iran–Iraq border. In 1980 Saddam Hussein's regime issued Decree No. 666, which allowed it to strip Iraqi citizenship from anyone deemed of "foreign origin"; it was used against the Feylis, falsely labelled Iranians though their families had lived in Iraq for generations. Their homes, businesses and property were seized, and they were driven across the border into Iran, many with nothing but the clothes they wore: 300,000 to 500,000 people by the Kurdistan Regional Government's count, while Shafaq News says more than 200,000 lost their citizenship. Thousands of men and boys were detained and executed; at least 25,000 are believed to have disappeared. Iraq's parliament recognised these crimes as genocide in 2011. The Kurdistan Region and most Feylis mark 4 April; in 2025 Iraq's prime minister made 2 April Feyli Martyrs' Day, a choice many in the community criticised. Iraq's Lurs, a smaller community around Mandali and along the Tigris, were persecuted in the same years and also relocated to Iran on a large scale.