Over 200 mass graves discovered in Iraq

By: Sultan Ahmed

KUWAIT CITY: Iraqi Human Rights Minister Bakhtiar Amin said 262 mass graves have been found in Iraq containing remains of thousands of people killed by the ousted Saddam regime, and that the places of these graves will not be declared owing to security reason.

Amin made his comments upon his arrival in Kuwait to attend a meeting of countries with missing people in Iraq on the beginning of this week.

“We are working on uncovering all the crimes of the former Iraqi regime including mass graves, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed inside and outside Iraq,” the minister said adding that the information would help convict ousted Iraqi worst dictator Saddam and his senior aides who will stand trial by a special Iraqi court.

He said the victims of Saddam's regime exceeded millions, but there was no accurate estimate, and that it is difficult to tell a final number of mass graves.

He said Iraq's security situation prevented the government from searching for more mass graves and identifying the bodies.

“We have asked for technical assistance from different countries to train Iraqis in this filed and help with experts in operations of unearthing, medicine, specification of the victims’ identities and the examination of the nuclear acid in search for mass graves.”

The photographs in this report are of the remains of some martyrs, who were lost since their detention in the epoch of the tyrant Saddam, and they were found in mass graves in different Iraq governorate and deserts, but there are tens of thousands of others who were not found after they were lost. Among the victims of Saddam were Grand Ayatollahs, notabilities, grand religious personalities, intellectuals, doctors and engineers etc.

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