PUK MP: Mass Grave Will Be Opened in November

PUKMEDIA

PUK MP Karwan Yarwais.

One of the mass graves containing the remains of Anfal martyrs from Garmian is scheduled to be exhumed publicly in November this year in the presence of representatives of the relevant parties and in a live broadcast. The PUK faction in the Iraqi Parliament said: "We will not accept any act of distortion of the graves and will prosecute perpetrators of such acts according to the law on the protection of mass graves."

Karwan Yarwais, MP of the PUK Faction in the Iraqi parliament, told PUKMEDIA: "We have made several contacts with the relevant institutions regarding the exhumation of the Anfal genocide mass graves in the desert of Tel Sheikh in Samawah, including the Director General of Iraqi Mass Graves, Representative of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), and Forensic Medicine Department. According to a joint agreement between the Iraqi General Directorate of Mass Graves, the ICMP, and the Forensic Medicine, one of the graves will be publicly exhumed in November in the presence of representatives from all relevant parties."

"The first stage will involve excavating a mass grave containing the remains of 200 Anfal martyrs from Garmian, ranging in gender and age. The delay of the uncovering process is due to the heat wave in the area, which is unbearable for the teams, and the exhumation of all the graves simultaneously is not possible due to the excessive strain it would place on the forensic physician, who would be unable to examine them all at once," stated Yarwais.

"We will not tolerate any form of distortion of the graves and will take legal action against those who commit such acts in accordance with the law protecting mass graves, as we previously filed a complaint against the forensic scientist for negligence in failing to conduct DNA tests," he added.

Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath dictatorial regime launched the Anfal campaign in February 1988, targeting Kurdish civilians and lasting until September of that year. It is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous cases of state-sponsored mass murder during Iraq's Ba'ath regime. 

The military and regular forces, including the First Corps in Kirkuk and the Fifth Corps in Erbil, as well as the Air Force, Special Forces, Republican Guard, Commando Forces, security and intelligence services, military intelligence, and chemical and biological weapons departments, were all mobilized to carry out these operations. The Anfal atrocities killed over 182,000 Kurdish civilians, including women, children, and the elderly.

According to statistics, 270 mass graves have been discovered since Iraq's liberation, with many more still to be found. The majority of these graves are concentrated in the area between Diwaniyah, Samawah, and Najaf provinces. 



PUKMEDIA