x

ISIS left behind more than 200 mass graves in Iraq: UN

The Islamic State group 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 Tuesday.

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 IS 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.

IS 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 on Tuesday.

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

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 the total sites are in Nineveh province, where IS’s onetime Iraqi capital Mosul lies and where the jihadists committed mass atrocities against the Yezidi minority.

The rest of the sites are distributed in the northern regions of Kirkuk and Salaheddin, or Anbar in the west. (News Agencies)

Hot this week

Northern CAN Mourns Evangelist Uma Ukpai, Describes Him as ‘Preacher Without Borders’

By Achadu Gabriel, KadunaThe Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN),...

FCTA Scales Up Funding for Renovation of PHCs in Abuja

By Joyce Remi-BabayejuThe Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA,...

ABUMET inspires youth creativity in Graffiti competition

By Lucy OmakpoAs part of its CSR initiative for...

WHO Appoints Dr.Pavel Ursu As Nigeria’s Country Rep

By Joyce Remi-BabayejuThe World Health Organization , WHO,...

Council Meeting: Wike Slams Blackmailers, Says, I Remain Focused to Achieve Results

By Joyce Remi-BabayejuThe FCT Minister, Barr. Nysome Wike,...

Super Eagles Draw Gabon in 2026 World Cup Play-off Semi-final

Nigeria will face Gabon in the semi-finals of the...

Dogara Hails Tinubu’s Agenda, Urges Youth Action**

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon....

Kogi Govt Partners L-PRES to Boost Livestock Productivity

By Noah Ocheni, LokojaThe Kogi State Government, in collaboration...

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img