IRGC Commander: Sardasht Border Residents Made Enemy Kneel Down

Sardasht, Mahabad, Kurdistan Prov, June 29, IRNA – Chief Commander of Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said in his commemoration message on 26th anniversary of Sardasht chemical bombardment that the brave, resistant border dwellers of Sardasht made enemy kneel down. According to the IRNA correspondent, the IRGC Brigadier General Mohammad-Ali Jaˈfariˈs message reads, ˈJune 28th, 1987, is the symbol of resistance of the cities and villages which were several times invaded beastly by the enemy, using chemical weapons, as the residents of them were witnesses to being silenced of their beloved ones before their eyes.ˈ The message refers to the enemyˈs broad-scale chemical bombardments, particularly during the last years of the Iraqi-imposed war, putting on display the enemyˈs beast-like nature, adding, ˈThe Baˈthi enemyˈs taking vast scale advantage of chemical weapons during the imposed war against civilians in cities and villages left some eight thousand war disabled victims in Iran, and the western villages and cities had the greatest share in this respect.ˈ He referred to Sardasht as the ˈsymbol of residenceˈ in confrontation with such grave crimes, adding, ˈSardasht is the first country in the world that was subjected to chemical bombardments and although the enemy tried hard to delete it from the memory of history, it would be remembered for good.ˈ Brigadier General Jaˈfari has also noted in his message, ˈThis horrendous crime was the (enemyˈs) response to the resistance of men and women who had despite the entire troubles made for them by the internal anti-revolutionary forces, maintained faithful to the system and to the late Imam (Khomeini – P), and to their nation and country, and they created an epic in this way.ˈ Elsewhere in his message, he says, ˈToday we are witnesses to the enemiesˈ various hatched plots in numerous crisis-hit regional countries in which the Muslims are massacred in chemical bombardments. ˈThe puppet rulersˈ usage of such weapons, particularly the usage of chemical weapons by Syrian rebels against the people of that country, as well as the Zionist regimeˈs usage of phosphorus weapons against the (Lebanese) Hezbollah forces and the Gaza Muslims in Gaza are small samples of such crimes, which are faced with the silence of the international (organizations).ˈ The IRGC commander general has ended his message arguing, ˈThe era for brutalities and unilateral wayward moves in the world is over and the by grace of Almighty Allah and His help, as well as the guidance and leadership of the Supreme Leader of the Muslims, and the backing of the brave Iranian nation, we would never permit the occurrence of similar events as the Sardasht, June 28th disaster, and would return the bitterness of the enemyˈs crimes, before their any effect, to themselves.ˈ The former Iraqi Baˈthi regime of Iraqˈs 1978 chemical bombardment of Sardasht left 119 martyrs, including old folks, women and children, and chemically wounding of over 8,000 defenseless residents of that city. Sardasht is located southwest of Oroumiyeh Lake about 1,300 meters above sea level. It lies in Iranˈs West Azarbaijan province. It was the first city in which civilians were attacked with chemical weapons by Saddam Hussein during the Iran–Iraq War. The population of Sardasht is Kurdish. Sardasht is also known for the many villages around it and their reliability on the cityˈs market./end