Shafaq News- Kirkuk

Families of Iraqi soldiers who disappeared during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s are pressing for answers, urging the government to determine the fate of their relatives after decades of waiting.

Afbeen Kakayi, whose father is among the missing soldiers, told Shafaq News that the families have "evidence and proof confirming that they are still alive," expressing hope that the appeal would prompt serious efforts to reopen the case with Tehran.

She also appealed to political and humanitarian bodies to support the families, particularly Ammar al-Hakim, head of the Al-Hikma Movement, who recently visited Kirkuk, asking them to help bring an end to the families' long wait.

"Knowing what happened to our relatives is a human right," she added.

The Iran-Iraq War, sometimes referred to as the First Gulf War, claimed an estimated one million lives on both sides, according to unofficial figures, and caused economic losses of more than $1 trillion.

Hundreds of Iraqi soldiers remain missing. Their names have not appeared in prisoner-of-war records, and their remains have yet to be found.

Hope, however, returns whenever the remains of an Iraqi soldier are discovered. In some cases, floodwaters have carried remains to the surface, allowing families to identify them through personal documents or military identification discs bearing the soldier's name and other details.

Read more: 38 years on: Iraq still divided over Iran war victory anniversary