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Iraq's mass graves...stories that did not end with the burial of their owners, and the "legacy of ISIS", including "neglected"
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2024-05-11 04:54
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Shafaq News/ Iraq and the world will never forget the summer of 2014, the moment ISIS invaded large areas of the country after entering Nineveh Governorate, controlling it, and rapidly spreading into the rest of the surrounding areas, before Baghdad launched a counter-campaign with the support of the international coalition led by America, during which it gradually regained its lands. Until 2017.
The organization left dozens of mass graves in the areas under its control, where it liquidated thousands of its opponents on the ground and buried them in mass graves.
According to a report issued by the United Nations Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) in 2018, it documented the presence of 202 sites for mass graves for ISIS victims in the governorates of Nineveh, Kirkuk, and Salah al-Din (north) and Anbar (west).
United Nations estimates indicate that the number of victims in mass graves ranges between 6 and 12 thousand, as Iraqi local authorities are still gradually exhuming the remains of the victims.
In 2017, Iraq declared victory over ISIS by regaining all of its territory, which was estimated at about a third of the country’s area, which the organization invaded in the summer of 2014.
Bakara Cemeteries
Hussein Al-Jubouri sits in front of Al-Bakara Air Base every day talking to his children who were taken by ISIS and disappeared into mass graves. To this day, dozens of families still have dozens of families whose fate is unknown.
Al-Jubouri told Shafaq News Agency, “A few days before the government forces entered to liberate Hawija District, ISIS began launching random arrest campaigns, especially against young people and those who violated their regime. Three of my sons were arrested, and an armed group came and took them from the middle of our house in the center of Hawija District ( 55 km southwest of Kirkuk), and we received news within hours that the organization had executed them by firing squad and buried them with a group of executed detainees from the organization.”
He added, "Years have passed and we do not know when these graves that include our sons and daughters will be opened? And do we know if they are in these graves or others? The Iraqi government must end the issue of mass graves committed by ISIS and the killing of thousands of innocent people."
Al-Jubouri called on the Iraqi government to “justify the victims of ISIS terrorism by assisting the grave opening committee at the Martyrs Foundation for the purpose of opening these graves, and revealing a page of the crimes committed by ISIS against civilians in Hawija, and the rest of the cities that witnessed similar crimes.”
Saadoun Abdul Jabbar, a researcher and specialist in mass graves affairs, told Shafaq News Agency, “Thousands of civilians from components of the Iraqi people, whose fate no one knows, are still buried in mass graves, despite the passage of more than twenty years since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime and his fascist party (the Baath Party).”
He stressed, "The Iraqi people were exposed to the wars and disasters of the economic blockade, and most of these wars were carried out by Saddam Hussein and his fascist party, leaving hundreds of mass graves against the people, Arabs, Kurds, and Turkmen. The series of crimes did not stop with the fall of Saddam's regime and the entry of American forces into Iraq."
Abdul-Jabbar continued: “The titles of the graves changed to bloody bombings with car bombs, suicide bombers, and other forms of violence that claimed the lives of nearly a million Iraqis, and with the closing of the file of the American forces, the terrorist organizations were uniting to reveal to us the most powerful terrorist organization known in the modern era, ISIS, to complete what Saddam Hussein had started.” His executioners killed dozens of civilians and buried them in mass graves, of which Kirkuk’s share was four mass graves, all of which are located in Hawija district.”
He points out, “Perhaps the largest mass graves are located at Al-Bakara Air Base, which is the base located near the Hawija district (55 km southwest of Kirkuk), where it was a military airport before 2003, and after the entry of American forces, it took it as a headquarters for its forces, and it was an important base for the forces at that time.” Dozens of Hawija residents were arrested there.”
He continues, "After the departure of the American forces in 2012, it was transformed into a military base for the Iraqi forces. In 2014, ISIS entered and took control of the Hawija district - which is 55 km southwest of Kirkuk - in June 2014, so Al-Bakara became the most important and largest ISIS stronghold in the areas... Southwest of Kirkuk, where ISIS executed dozens.”
400 Betrayed
Local authorities in Kirkuk announced the discovery of mass graves containing about 400 bodies of people killed by ISIS near Hawija district.
Last month, Iraqi forces and the Popular Mobilization Forces regained control of Hawija, located southwest of the city of Kirkuk.
Kirkuk Governor Rakan al-Jubouri said in a previous statement that ISIS had turned Al-Bakara Air Base into a site for carrying out executions.
Rakan added, "Look at the ugliness of terrorism, which executed at least 400 victims, including them in red execution suits, and others in civilian clothes."
Al-Bakara base is located three kilometers southwest of Hawija, and was the headquarters of American forces during the years following the fall of the previous regime in 2003. It is believed that Al-Bakara base contains five mass graves of detainees who were held by ISIS.
ISIS and the executions of Hawija
Assistant Director of the Human Rights Commission, Mujib Abdullah, told Shafaq News Agency, “The mass graves in Hawija district were found in 2017, when ISIS carried out mass executions and buried them in mass graves. We conducted a preliminary examination in the same year in which these graves were discovered.”
He continued, "We do not know the number of those buried in the four mass graves because they are intertwined with each other, and the team uncovered the mass graves in (Al-Bakara, Ghabat Al-Bayr, Al-Musanna'a, and Al-Sayadah Village), and this team needs government support for the purpose of carrying out their work tasks accurately, and revealing the names of those who... ISIS executed them and buried them in these graves.”
The Department of Mass Graves Affairs at the Martyrs Foundation conducted a preliminary technical inspection of a number of graves in Kirkuk Governorate under the direct supervision of the head of the Martyrs Foundation, Abdul Ilah Al-Naeli, and in implementation of the tasks assigned to the department, in accordance with the provisions of the Mass Graves Affairs and Protection Law No. 13 of 2015, where the department’s cadres carried out Initial technical examination of a number of mass graves recently discovered in Kirkuk Governorate. Four of them were uncovered:
1_ Al-Bakara Base Cemetery.
2_ Camel Forest Cemetery.
3_ Musana village cemetery.
4_ Al-Sayada village cemetery.
The excavation team also visited the first site of the “Camel Forest” cemetery and re-evaluated it, and that all of these excavation and documentation work was carried out under the accompaniment and protection of the security forces occupying the land.
The above-mentioned graves subject to the Mass Graves Affairs and Protection Law will also be entered into the department’s database for the purpose of being included in the annual plans for opening, excavation, and identifying victims.
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[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
2024-05-11 04:54
Share
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Shafaq News/ Iraq and the world will never forget the summer of 2014, the moment ISIS invaded large areas of the country after entering Nineveh Governorate, controlling it, and rapidly spreading into the rest of the surrounding areas, before Baghdad launched a counter-campaign with the support of the international coalition led by America, during which it gradually regained its lands. Until 2017.
The organization left dozens of mass graves in the areas under its control, where it liquidated thousands of its opponents on the ground and buried them in mass graves.
According to a report issued by the United Nations Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) in 2018, it documented the presence of 202 sites for mass graves for ISIS victims in the governorates of Nineveh, Kirkuk, and Salah al-Din (north) and Anbar (west).
United Nations estimates indicate that the number of victims in mass graves ranges between 6 and 12 thousand, as Iraqi local authorities are still gradually exhuming the remains of the victims.
In 2017, Iraq declared victory over ISIS by regaining all of its territory, which was estimated at about a third of the country’s area, which the organization invaded in the summer of 2014.
Bakara Cemeteries
Hussein Al-Jubouri sits in front of Al-Bakara Air Base every day talking to his children who were taken by ISIS and disappeared into mass graves. To this day, dozens of families still have dozens of families whose fate is unknown.
Al-Jubouri told Shafaq News Agency, “A few days before the government forces entered to liberate Hawija District, ISIS began launching random arrest campaigns, especially against young people and those who violated their regime. Three of my sons were arrested, and an armed group came and took them from the middle of our house in the center of Hawija District ( 55 km southwest of Kirkuk), and we received news within hours that the organization had executed them by firing squad and buried them with a group of executed detainees from the organization.”
He added, "Years have passed and we do not know when these graves that include our sons and daughters will be opened? And do we know if they are in these graves or others? The Iraqi government must end the issue of mass graves committed by ISIS and the killing of thousands of innocent people."
Al-Jubouri called on the Iraqi government to “justify the victims of ISIS terrorism by assisting the grave opening committee at the Martyrs Foundation for the purpose of opening these graves, and revealing a page of the crimes committed by ISIS against civilians in Hawija, and the rest of the cities that witnessed similar crimes.”
Saadoun Abdul Jabbar, a researcher and specialist in mass graves affairs, told Shafaq News Agency, “Thousands of civilians from components of the Iraqi people, whose fate no one knows, are still buried in mass graves, despite the passage of more than twenty years since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime and his fascist party (the Baath Party).”
He stressed, "The Iraqi people were exposed to the wars and disasters of the economic blockade, and most of these wars were carried out by Saddam Hussein and his fascist party, leaving hundreds of mass graves against the people, Arabs, Kurds, and Turkmen. The series of crimes did not stop with the fall of Saddam's regime and the entry of American forces into Iraq."
Abdul-Jabbar continued: “The titles of the graves changed to bloody bombings with car bombs, suicide bombers, and other forms of violence that claimed the lives of nearly a million Iraqis, and with the closing of the file of the American forces, the terrorist organizations were uniting to reveal to us the most powerful terrorist organization known in the modern era, ISIS, to complete what Saddam Hussein had started.” His executioners killed dozens of civilians and buried them in mass graves, of which Kirkuk’s share was four mass graves, all of which are located in Hawija district.”
He points out, “Perhaps the largest mass graves are located at Al-Bakara Air Base, which is the base located near the Hawija district (55 km southwest of Kirkuk), where it was a military airport before 2003, and after the entry of American forces, it took it as a headquarters for its forces, and it was an important base for the forces at that time.” Dozens of Hawija residents were arrested there.”
He continues, "After the departure of the American forces in 2012, it was transformed into a military base for the Iraqi forces. In 2014, ISIS entered and took control of the Hawija district - which is 55 km southwest of Kirkuk - in June 2014, so Al-Bakara became the most important and largest ISIS stronghold in the areas... Southwest of Kirkuk, where ISIS executed dozens.”
400 Betrayed
Local authorities in Kirkuk announced the discovery of mass graves containing about 400 bodies of people killed by ISIS near Hawija district.
Last month, Iraqi forces and the Popular Mobilization Forces regained control of Hawija, located southwest of the city of Kirkuk.
Kirkuk Governor Rakan al-Jubouri said in a previous statement that ISIS had turned Al-Bakara Air Base into a site for carrying out executions.
Rakan added, "Look at the ugliness of terrorism, which executed at least 400 victims, including them in red execution suits, and others in civilian clothes."
Al-Bakara base is located three kilometers southwest of Hawija, and was the headquarters of American forces during the years following the fall of the previous regime in 2003. It is believed that Al-Bakara base contains five mass graves of detainees who were held by ISIS.
ISIS and the executions of Hawija
Assistant Director of the Human Rights Commission, Mujib Abdullah, told Shafaq News Agency, “The mass graves in Hawija district were found in 2017, when ISIS carried out mass executions and buried them in mass graves. We conducted a preliminary examination in the same year in which these graves were discovered.”
He continued, "We do not know the number of those buried in the four mass graves because they are intertwined with each other, and the team uncovered the mass graves in (Al-Bakara, Ghabat Al-Bayr, Al-Musanna'a, and Al-Sayadah Village), and this team needs government support for the purpose of carrying out their work tasks accurately, and revealing the names of those who... ISIS executed them and buried them in these graves.”
The Department of Mass Graves Affairs at the Martyrs Foundation conducted a preliminary technical inspection of a number of graves in Kirkuk Governorate under the direct supervision of the head of the Martyrs Foundation, Abdul Ilah Al-Naeli, and in implementation of the tasks assigned to the department, in accordance with the provisions of the Mass Graves Affairs and Protection Law No. 13 of 2015, where the department’s cadres carried out Initial technical examination of a number of mass graves recently discovered in Kirkuk Governorate. Four of them were uncovered:
1_ Al-Bakara Base Cemetery.
2_ Camel Forest Cemetery.
3_ Musana village cemetery.
4_ Al-Sayada village cemetery.
The excavation team also visited the first site of the “Camel Forest” cemetery and re-evaluated it, and that all of these excavation and documentation work was carried out under the accompaniment and protection of the security forces occupying the land.
The above-mentioned graves subject to the Mass Graves Affairs and Protection Law will also be entered into the department’s database for the purpose of being included in the annual plans for opening, excavation, and identifying victims.
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