Bloody Moon Purge
| Bloody Moon Purge (تطهير القمر الدموي) | |
|---|---|
| Location | Dar Al Hamma, Salamat |
| Date | August 16, 1989 - August 17, 1989 11:24 pm - 4:51 am (UTC-01:00) |
| Target | ¨Persons considered 'suspicious" by Jalil Al Kharrabi |
Attack type | Purge |
| Deaths | 39 |
| Perpetrators | Jalil Al Kharrabi |
| Motive | Removal of any suspicious personnalities which could've overthrown Jalil Al Kharrabi |
The Bloody Moon Purge took place in the night between August 16 1989 and August 17 1989 and was ordered by Jalil Al Kharrabi. The purge got its name because of the total lunar eclipse which happened this night, and Kharrabi started and ended the purge at the very start and very end of the lunar eclipse. According to historians, he wanted to have a symbol for his purge, to reaffirm himself.
The chronology of the purge
Note : All dates anterior to August 16 1989 were retrieved with government documents, and the times indicated during August 16-17 1989 were retrieved from the VHS tape. According to government and secret services documents, Jalil Al Kharrabi premeditated the purge for a long time ; with the first mention of it appearing on a document dating back to July 26 1988, 1 year and 2 weeks before the event.
On September 14 1988, the government started building the bunker, where the purge took place, under a park of Dar Al Hamma, while disguising it for a metro station.
After the completion of the bunker April 1989, Al Kharrabi coordinated secret services and released his list of targets, with about 43 names in total. Al Kharrabi reportedly made some changes to the list. Al Kharrabi also fixed the date of the purge to the night of August 16 to August 17, 1989.