Iraqi First Lady Announces Mass Grave Discovery in Samawah

Agencies

The newly discovered mass grave in samawah.

The First Lady of Iraq, Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed, declared the discovery of a mass grave in the Samawah deserts, believed to hold the remains of Kurdish women and children who were martyred during the infamous Anfal campaign.

The discovery of the mass grave was announced during a news conference on Sunday, December 22, 2024, in the presence of Iraqi First Lady Ahmed.

The mass grave has apparently been uncovered in the Tal Sheikhiya desert, located in the Al Muthanna region of Samawah. It was discovered following a week of hard work.

A press release from the office of the Iraqi First Lady indicates that the mass grave is thought to hold the remains of Kurdish women and children who were massacred by the former Ba'ath regime in the 1980s, as evidenced by the colourful clothes discovered, characteristic of traditional Kurdish attire.

First Lady Ahmed said during a press conference held near the mass grave: "Today, we gather on this land that still bears the anguish of our friends, women and children, caused by the heinous atrocities committed by the Ba'ath regime. This land has been holding the agony of women and children for four decades."

"Efforts have been ongoing for over a week to locate this mass grave, and in the next phase, the remains will be exhumed and buried with appropriate ceremony in Chamchamal. However, this is not the endpoint, as numerous other mass graves remain unexcavated, indicating that the case is far from resolved," she stated.

"We will do our best to locate the mass graves, collect samples, identify them, and return them," she remarked.

In addition, Dhiaa Kareem Taama, the Iraqi federal government's Director General of the Department of Mass Graves Affairs and Protection, stated during the same press conference: "The procedure of exhuming bones from the graves is difficult and needs care. To preserve their identity and recognition, we must excavate them with utmost care."

"The efforts of the first lady of Iraq have significantly influenced both the present and the past, resulting in the return of a number of remains to the Kurdistan Region," he added.

The mass grave is 16 meters long and 2 meters wide. 

The Iraqi first lady persists in her efforts to return the remains of mass grave victims to their relatives and families.

At the request of the Iraqi first lady, a professional team arrived in the Kurdistan Region earlier this month as part of a campaign to identify the victims of mass graves, collecting data and blood samples from relatives of Anfal victims. 

Iraq's fallen 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 mobilised 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.  



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