ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani has approved the allocation of 25 billion dinars to projects across Halabja, Omed Sabah Othman, president of the Diwan of the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Council of Ministers told a press conference on Monday.

Speaking to reporters, Othman said that the prime minister has allotted “an amount of 25 billion dinars for projects in Halabja,” adding that 250 individuals are set to be employed in the province.

The presser was also attended by Halabja Governor Nukhsha Nasih, and the Halabja support council. Othman further revealed that Prime Minister Barzani has approved a previous demand made by the support council to compensate the city's population in the state budget, for the massacre committed in March 1988 by the previous regime.

As the Iraq-Iran War was drawing to an end, on March 16, 1988, Halabja was bombarded with chemical gas by the regime of former dictator Saddam Hussein, killing over 5,000 and injuring at least 10,000.

"An official document under the order of [Masrour Barzani] has been issued to address [Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani] to compensate the Halabja residents from the state budget,” Othman noted. “According to the constitution, all the victims of the former [Baath] regime must be compensated for in the state budget," he said.

The premier also approved establishing “a health board to treat victims of chemical weapons exposure.”

Another approved demand was the internationalization of the province’s Sazan crossing.

The Council chief noted that the KRG “officially recognizes the Sazan crossing as an internal gate, and we are also working to internationalize that crossing.”

Separately, many other demands in regards to healthcare, investment, land disputes and infrastructure were approved and are to be addressed in the near future.

Iraq recognized Halabja as its 19^th province in April 2025, following a decade of efforts by the KRG, which declared it a governorate in 2014, marking a historic achievement for the province and the broader Kurdistan Region.

Nasih, the province’s first female governor, has made continuous attempts to help Halabja’s recovery following the atrocities committed by the previous regime, as well as helping the city flourish economically and rebuild the province’s infrastructure.