Shafaq News- Duhok
The remains of 10 people who died during the 1991 Kurdish mass exodus have been found near the Sarzeri border crossing with Turkiye, with DNA testing underway to identify the victims, a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) official told Shafaq News on Wednesday.
Nawser Abdul, director general at the KRG Ministry of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs, said three of the graves opened so far were those of children buried in their clothes, while only one victim has been identified by name. The graves were uncovered during expansion work at the Sarzeri crossing, where the contractor halted excavation after human bones appeared and notified the authorities.
The victims died during the mass flight that followed the collapse of the March 1991 Kurdish uprising against Saddam Hussein’s government. UNHCR records show that about 400,000 mostly Kurdish Iraqis fled toward Turkiye and another 1.3 million toward Iran within roughly three weeks in April 1991.
Read more: The history of the Kurds in Iraq
According to Abdul, the KRG also plans, subject to available resources and families’ wishes, to recover remains and restore graves of Kurdish victims in Mardin, Mus, and Diyarbakir.