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A court in The Hague has ruled that the killing of thousands of Kurds in Iraq in the 1980s was an act of genocide.

The ruling came in the case of Dutch trader Frans van Anraat, who was given a 15-year sentence for selling chemicals to Saddam Hussein's regime.

He was found guilty of complicity in war crimes over a 1988 chemical attack that killed more than 5,000 people, but acquitted of genocide charges.

It is the first trial to deal with war crimes against Kurds in Iraq and Iran.

'Intent to destroy'

Dozens of ethnic Kurds gathered in the packed courtroom to hear the verdict.

The court has no other conclusion than that these attacks were committed with the intent to destroy the Kurdish population of Iraq
Court ruling

Before van Anraat could be convicted, the judges had to decide whether the 1988 attack on Iraqi Kurds in Halabja amounted to genocide.

According to the 1948 Geneva Convention, genocide is defined as "acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group".

The Dutch court said it considered "legally and convincingly proven that the Kurdish population meets requirement under Genocide Conventions as an ethnic group".

"The court has no other conclusion than that these attacks were committed with the intent to destroy the Kurdish population of Iraq," the ruling said.

However, observers say the Dutch court's decision may not have much influence on the Iraqi tribunal, which is hearing the trial of Saddam Hussein.

The court is believed to be preparing a case against him for the use of chemical weapons in Halabja in northern Iraq.

'Contribution'

Van Anraat was not in court to hear the verdict.

Frans van Anraat lived in Iraq for several years
He was charged with supplying thousands of tons of raw materials for chemical weapons used in the 1980-1988 war against Iran, and against Iraqi Kurds.

The court found him guilty of aiding war crimes, as "his deliveries facilitated the attacks".

"He cannot counter with the argument that this would have happened even without his contribution," the presiding judge said.

However, the judges ruled that van Anraat was not aware of the genocidal intentions of the Iraqi regime when he sold the ingredients for poison gas.

Victims' relatives clapped when the sentence was read out, while dozens danced in a circle to drums outside the court.

Defence lawyers said they would appeal against the sentence, which was the maximum that could be imposed for the charge.

The 63-year-old was arrested in 1989 in Italy at the request of the US Government.

He was later released and fled to Iraq, where he remained until 2003.

He was arrested in December 2004 at his Amsterdam home.

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