Shafaq News- Al-Anbar

Groups claiming links to security institutions are pressuring families of victims and missing persons from the Saqlawiyah case to avoid speaking to the media or participating in activities calling for answers about their relatives' fate, a security source told Shafaq News on Sunday.

The source said the groups have used indirect threats and warnings to discourage families from speaking to journalists or joining public events related to the case, prompting some relatives to remain silent for fear of harassment.

The case dates back to the 2016 operation to retake Fallujah from ISIS, when hundreds of men and boys from Saqlawiyah were reportedly separated from their families at security screening points before disappearing. Families and human rights groups have accused security personnel and affiliated armed groups of involvement in the disappearances, while Iraqi authorities have pledged investigations over the years. The fate of many of the missing remains unknown.

Mohammed Al-Akkashi, a relative of several missing victims, told Shafaq News that families have endured years of uncertainty without receiving clear information about their loved ones. "For a decade, we have sought the truth and demanded to know the fate of our relatives, but today we face attempts to prevent us from claiming our rights or making our voices heard."

Al-Akkashi said seven members of his family remain missing. "We still do not know whether they are alive or dead. This question has followed us every day for years without an answer."

He called on Al-Anbar's representatives in parliament and government to take responsibility for the case and work to reveal the fate of the missing.

Civil activist Youssef Al-Kubaisi affirmed that families have a constitutional and legal right to seek information about their missing relatives and to express their demands peacefully.

"The right to truth and justice does not expire with time," Al-Kubaisi told Shafaq News, urging authorities to protect families and intensify efforts to resolve the case.