Mass Grave of 155 Kurds Exhumed in Southern Iraq

A second mass grave in less than a month, containing the remains of 155 Kurds killed by the former Iraqi regime, was exhumed on Sunday in Muthanna province, southern Iraq, Rudaw news agency reported yesterday.

The state-affiliated Martyrs Foundation reported that the grave, located in the Tal Sheikha area of the Samawa desert, revealed the remains of mostly women and children who perished during the 1988 Anfal campaign.

In addition to this grave, seven more have been identified in the region and are currently being excavated. Chro Hama Sharif, a member of the Iraqi parliament’s committee on martyrs and victims, noted that the Martyrs Foundation has not yet provided updates regarding these mass graves.

The Anfal campaign, initiated in 1986 under Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime, resulted in the deaths of over 182,000 Kurds and the destruction of approximately 4,500 villages. Despite Iraq’s Supreme Court recognizing Anfal as a crime against humanity in 2008, little support has been offered to the survivors and victims’ families.