155 Anfal victims’ remains unearthed in southern Iraq mass grave

155 Anfal victims’ remains unearthed in southern Iraq mass grave
2025-01-18 10:04

Shafaq News/ Iraq’s Martyrs Foundation announced the successful exhumation of a second mass grave in the Tal al-Sheikhiyah area of Al-Muthanna Province, southern Iraq, containing the remains of victims from the “Anfal genocide.”

In a statement, the Foundation’s Mass Graves Directorate confirmed “the recovery of 155 remains, all belonging to Kurdish women and children who were executed during the Anfal campaign.”

“The remains will be transferred to the forensic medicine department for DNA analysis to identify the victims,” the Foundation noted.

The Foundation also reported the identification of seven additional graves in the same area, adding that these sites have been prioritized for future excavation, with expectations of uncovering more mass graves in the region.

Notably, the Anfal campaign, which began in 1986 and intensified in 1988 before continuing until 1989, was led by Ali Hassan al-Majid, infamously known as “Chemical Ali,” who was the Secretary General of the Ba'ath Party's Northern Bureau and served as the region's military governor, while the military operations were commanded by former Iraqi Defense Minister Sultan Hashim.

On May 3, 2011, the Iraqi High Criminal Court classified the Anfal campaign as a “crime against humanity and genocide” and convicted al-Majid, who was also responsible for a chemical attack on Halabja. Al-Majid was sentenced to death, and the execution took place on January 25, 2010.

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