Truth and Justice in Iraq (1) 1,500 bodies discovered in new Mass Grave

The Kurdistan Regional Government reports that “ Investigators have uncovered a mass grave in southern Iraq containing as many as 1,500 bodies, most of them thought to be Kurds forcibly removed from their homes in the late 1980s. The site, near the town of Samawa, about 180 miles south of Baghdad, consists of 18 shallow trenches dug by earth-moving vehicles into hard limestone rock. Most of the victims were women and children who were apparently lined up in front of the pits and shot with AK-47 assault rifles, according to a U.S. investigator. Around 110 bodies have been excavated from the site so far, nearly two thirds of them children and teenagers. They are being forensically examined and evidence gathered will be used to build cases against Saddam Hussein and his top deputies for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide”

The proposal of Bakhtiar Amin, the outgoing Human Rights Minister, that 5% of Iraqi oil revenues to be used for a fund for Saddam’s victims is surely reasonable. (AJ).