Shafaq News – Al-Sulaymaniyah

Iraq has launched a nationwide DNA collection campaign aimed at identifying victims of mass graves linked to the rule of former President Saddam Hussein, whose regime was responsible for widespread forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Dr. Barzan Mohammed, Director of the al-Sulaymaniyah Forensic Center, said the campaign targets families of individuals who went missing under coercive or unexplained circumstances and whose remains have yet to be located.

“This effort is part of a broader national and humanitarian mission to restore the identities of those lost and return their remains to their families,” Mohammed stated.

Zardasht Mohammed, a resident of al-Sulaymaniyah whose brother was abducted by regime forces in 1985, told Shafaq News that his brother was initially held by local security forces before being transferred to Baghdad’s al-Fadhiliyah prison.

“We later learned that more than 55 people from al-Sulaymaniyah were detained during that time, with no information ever released about their fate,” he said.

Mohammed urged other families of the disappeared to provide DNA samples, calling it a rare opportunity to uncover the truth. “After all these years, this may finally offer answers—and closure—for families who have waited in silence for decades,” he said.

Mass graves from the Saddam era have been discovered across Iraq, including in the southern, central, and northern regions. Tens of thousands of Iraqis, including Kurds, Shiites, and political dissidents, are believed to have been killed during internal purges, military campaigns, and government crackdowns.