Iraq News
Terrorism

More than 200 mass graves found in former ISIS territory in Iraq: UN

BY AFP

In this file photo taken on April 12th, 2015, a member of the Iraqi security forces wearing protective clothes inspects a mass grave containing the remains of dozens of people believed to have been slain by ISIS at the Speicher camp in Tikrit. ISIS left behind more than 200 mass graves in Iraq containing up to 12,000 victims that could hold vital evidence of war crimes, the UN said November 6th, 2018. [Ahmed al-Rubaye/AFP]

In this file photo taken on April 12th, 2015, a member of the Iraqi security forces wearing protective clothes inspects a mass grave containing the remains of dozens of people believed to have been slain by ISIS at the Speicher camp in Tikrit. ISIS left behind more than 200 mass graves in Iraq containing up to 12,000 victims that could hold vital evidence of war crimes, the UN said November 6th, 2018. [Ahmed al-Rubaye/AFP]

More than 200 mass graves containing up to 12,000 victims have been found so far in Iraq that could hold vital evidence of war crimes by the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS), the UN said Tuesday (November 6th).

The United Nations in Iraq (UNAMI) and its human rights office said they had documented a total of 202 mass graves in parts of western and northern Iraq held by ISIS between 2014 and 2017.

Even more sites could be uncovered in the months to come, the report warned, urging Iraqi authorities to properly preserve and excavate them to provide closure for victims' families.

"The mass grave sites documented in our report are a testament to harrowing human loss, profound suffering and shocking cruelty," said the UN's representative in Iraq, Jan Kubis.

"Determining the circumstances surrounding the significant loss of life will be an important step in the mourning process for families and their journey to secure their rights to truth and justice," he said.

ISIS overran swathes of Iraq in 2014, executing fighters and civilians en masse and using other forms of repression to seize and keep territory in the country's north and west.

The mass graves may "contain critical forensic material" that could help uncover the details of these violations, as well as identify the victims, the UN said.

UN investigators in August began collecting evidence on war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide for Iraqi courts to use in trials of accused ISIS militants.

Infamous sinkhole

Out of the 202 mass graves documented in the UN's new report, just 28 of them have been excavated and 1,258 bodies exhumed by Iraqi authorities.

Nearly half of the total sites are in Ninawa province, where ISIS's onetime Iraqi capital Mosul lies and where the extremists committed mass atrocities against the Yazidi minority.

According to Iraq's high commission on human rights, more than 3,000 Yazidis remain missing in Ninawa, in addition to another 4,000 people.

The rest of the sites are distributed in the northern regions of Kirkuk and Salaheddine, or Anbar in the west.

Some of those that have yet to be excavated are secured by Iraqi armed forces, but others remain endangered by fighting or are contaminated by explosive devices left behind by ISIS.

The largest, according to the report, is expected to be the al-Khasfa sinkhole south of Mosul, where as many as 4,000 people may have been killed.

ISIS has planted explosives at al-Khasfa, which killed a journalist and three members of Iraqi forces last year.

After capturing Mosul, Iraqi government forces went on to oust ISIS from its other urban strongholds and declared victory against the group in late 2017.

'A full reckoning'

But many Iraqi families have missing relatives who they suspect may have been killed by ISIS, or are desperately looking for the remains of loved ones they know were executed by the group.

"Families of victims must report to more than five state entities to complete the legal requirements to establish the fate of a missing person," said the report, calling for the creation of a single body to handle the process.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said revealing the truth behind the mass graves would be "critical to ensuring a full reckoning for the atrocities committed by ISIS".

"ISIS's horrific crimes in Iraq have left the headlines but the trauma of the victims' families endures, with thousands of women, men and children still unaccounted for," she said.

Do you like this article?

2 Comment(s)
Comment Policy * Denotes Required Field 1500 / 1500

Unfortunately, criminals and enemies of humanity go by various and numerous names and titles. And they are not exclusively limited to Iraq. They have always existed throughout history and will always exist. In Iraq, however, we must not forget the crimes of the Ba’ath regime, especially the Anfal atrocity.

Reply

May God give you victory!

Reply