Mass grave of Kurdish Anfal victims unearthed in Muthanna desert

MUTHANNA — A mass grave containing the remains of Kurdish victims, women and children, from the Anfal genocide is currently being exhumed in the Al-Samawah desert, Muthanna governorate, a further reminder of the atrocities committed by the former Baathist regime against the Kurdish people.

The Anfal genocide, carried out by Iraq’s Baath regime between February and September 1988, aimed to eradicate the Kurdish population through extensive military operations. Human Rights Watch estimates that between 50,000 and 100,000 Kurds were killed, while Kurdish sources claim the death toll may have reached 182,000.

The eighth day of exhumation operations at the third mass grave in the Al-Sheikhiyah area in Al-Samawah desert witnessed the participation of Iraq’s First Lady Shanaz Ibrahim, Al-Muthanna Governor Mohanad Al-Atabi, and several advisors, parliamentarians, and provincial council members.

First Lady Shanaz Ibrahim emphasized that efforts continue to collect DNA samples from the families of the victims, compare them with the remains, and return the identified remains to their families for proper funerals in the cemeteries dedicated to Anfal victims.

Shanaz Ibrahim remarked, “Today, we gather on this land that witnessed, four decades ago, the pain and cries of our innocent loved ones, women, and children, whose souls were taken in the most brutal crimes committed by the former dictatorial regime.”

Among the remains in the mass graves, there are haunting images that reflect the oppression and brutality of the Baath regime: a mother tightly embracing her child in a final embrace, as both lost their lives together, and a child having a small mirror, a silent reflection of innocence lost.

Governor Mohanad Al-Atabi highlighted several distressing findings during the exhumation, noting that all the victims were women and children. They were detained in Kurdish traditional clothes.

Director General of Iraq’s Mass Graves, Dia Karim, stated that operations at this site have been ongoing for eight days. Preliminary examinations confirm that all the victims are women and children from Kurdish areas.

Furthermore, in January of this year, the remains of 172 Anfal victims were transferred from Baghdad to the Kurdistan Region. These remains were discovered after heavy rains and flooding revealed their graves in the Samawah desert. Following identification by Baghdad’s Forensic Medicine Department, they were reburied at the Monument of the Martyrs in Chamchamal, in Sulaymaniyah governorate.