Shafaq News- Al-Anbar

Al-Anbar activists and civil figures disputed the official narrative around a mass grave found in al-Saqlawiya, north of Fallujah, pushing back on government claims that the site belongs to the Baath era and calling for independent forensic scrutiny.

Doubts intensified after images and materials recovered from the site circulated online, with local observers arguing that some belongings found alongside the bodies did not appear to correspond to the 1990s, raising speculation that the grave could be linked to more recent periods of violence.

According to Iraq’s Martyrs Foundation, authorities on Saturday began excavation work at seven mass grave sites believed to contain victims from the former regime, coinciding with Iraq’s National Day for Mass Graves, commemorated annually on May 16.

Civil activist Wissam Malik told Shafaq News that the mass graves file in al-Anbar remained “one of the most painful humanitarian issues” in Iraq and warned against politicizing the case or promoting unverified narratives. “This file cannot tolerate speculation,” Malik said, calling for transparent investigations to identify the victims and reveal the full truth behind the killings.

Human rights activist Abdul Azim Adel urged the Martyrs Foundation and relevant authorities in both al-Anbar and Baghdad to ensure “maximum transparency” during excavation and forensic procedures in al-Saqlawiya to preserve public trust and clarify whether the grave belongs to the Baath period or to post-2003 violence.

Adel stressed the importance of distinguishing between crimes committed under Saddam Hussein’s regime and violations that occurred after the 2003 US invasion to preserve legal and historical accuracy.

Journalist Mohammed al-Akkashi also rejected “premature attribution” of the grave to the former regime, arguing that “unresolved disappearances from al-Saqlawiya and al-Bu’kash remained evidence of more recent atrocities.”

Despite repeated promises by successive Iraqi governments, the fate of more than 26,000 forcibly disappeared Iraqis remains unresolved. Many were allegedly abducted by armed groups during the war against ISIS in northern and western Iraq.

A security source said yesterday that teams from the Mass Graves Protection and Missing Persons Directorate, operating under the Martyrs Foundation, had begun opening more than 30 mass grave sites in the Akkaz plain near al-Saqlawiya in coordination with security forces and local authorities.

The issue resurfaced only a day after Iraqi forensic authorities revealed preparations for 13,000 graves intended to receive identified remains recovered from mass grave sites across the country. A source told Shafaq News that Iraq’s Medico-Legal Directorate is currently holding around 13,000 sets of remains pending DNA matching and identification before they can be returned to families for burial.

International accountability efforts intensified after Baghdad requested UN assistance in 2017 to investigate ISIS crimes, prompting the UN Security Council to establish UNITAD under Resolution 2379. UNITAD began work in 2018 but ended operations in September 2024 after Baghdad declined to renew its mandate amid disputes over evidence-sharing and the use of the death penalty in Iraq. In its final report to the Security Council, the investigative team acknowledged that some evidence collected during its mission would remain archived within the United Nations rather than transferred to Iraqi authorities.