Twenty five years ago thousands of Iraqi Kurds died fleeing Saddam Hussein’s forces. Jim Muir revisits the exodus with recordings heard here for the first time.

Twenty-five years ago, thousands of Iraqi Kurds lost their lives as they fled the forces of Saddam Hussein into the Zagros and Taurus mountains of northern Iraq, towards Iran and Turkey. Massively outgunned, many were killed by the helicopter gunship fire and tanks at the command of Saddam’s well trained and brutal troops. Virtually the entire Kurdish population trekked up into the mountains through freezing rain and snow, where many perished before a safe haven was established under western air protection.

The mass flight of the Kurds was yet another stage in the turbulent history of a people who have faced a constant struggle to establish their place in the world. BBC Middle East correspondent Jim Muir was there, and revisits the exodus with recordings he made then which have never been heard before.

(Photo: Jim Muir with Jalal Talibani and Masoud Barzarni, leaders of the 1991 Kurdish uprising)