A chilling discovery has shaken Iraq. Exhumation teams have unearthed a mass grave in Mouthanna province, containing the remains of at least a hundred Kurds, mainly women and children. These victims would have fallen under the bullets of Saddam Hussein’s regime during the 1980s.
The work, which began in mid-December, revealed an atrocious picture. “After removing the first layer of earth and the remains became clear, it was discovered that they belonged to women and children dressed in Kurdish clothing,” Diaa Karim, head of the Iraqi authority responsible for mass graves.
“Point blank” execution
According to him, the victims, probably from Kalar in Iraqi Kurdistan, were executed “point blank in the head”. Exhumation operations are still in progress, suggesting that the toll could rise. “Another mass grave was discovered nearby,” added Dourgham Kamel, a member of the exhumation team, near the infamous Nougrat Salman prison, where many political opponents and Kurds were tortured.
These new revelations revive the wounds of the past and recall the atrocities committed by the regime of Saddam Hussein. Indeed, this discovery takes place in the context of the violent “Anfal” campaign led by Saddam Hussein against the Kurds at the end of the 1980s. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds died in these massacres.
Source: www.20minutes.fr
