{"id":2982,"date":"2023-03-22T21:29:30","date_gmt":"2023-03-22T18:29:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sawtoroba.com\/Eng\/?p=2982"},"modified":"2023-03-22T21:29:30","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T18:29:30","slug":"iraq-has-one-of-the-highest-numbers-of-missing-persons-in-the-world-according-to-the-red-cross","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sawtoroba.com\/Eng\/?p=2982","title":{"rendered":"Iraq\u00a0has one of the highest numbers of missing persons in the world, according to the Red Cross."},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"article-header\">\n<h1>Iraqis still haunted by Saddam-era disappearances after his fall<\/h1>\n<p class=\"article__subhead css-1wt8oh6\"><em>Iraq\u00a0has one of the highest numbers of missing persons in the world, according to the Red Cross.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/header>\n<figure class=\"article-featured-image\">\n<div class=\"responsive-image\"><\/div><figcaption>Iraqi man Rahim Habash cries beside a numbered steel sign that marks where the remains of his son Salem lie at a cemetery for those who disappeared during Saddam Hussein&#8217;s regime &#8211; which was made accessible to Iraqi citizens in 2003, in Abu Ghraib, outside Baghdad. Salem went missing in 1992 when he was 20, and his family only discovered he was buried in one of hundreds of numbered graves on April 23, 2003, the day before this photo was taken [Brennan Linsley\/AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"article-info-block css-ti04u9\">\n<div class=\"article-b-l\">\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<div class=\"date-simple css-1yjq2zp\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 13 Mar 2023<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">13 Mar 2023<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"social-share-buttons\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wysiwyg wysiwyg--all-content css-ibbk12\" aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>When he first heard that US troops had toppled Saddam Hussein, Iraqi engineer Hazem Mohammed thought he would finally be able to find his brother, who had been shot dead and dumped in a mass grave after a failed uprising against Saddam\u2019s rule in 1991.<\/p>\n<p>It was not just Mohammed\u2019s hopes that were raised after the United States-led invasion in March 2003. Relatives of tens of thousands of people who were killed or disappeared under the dictator believed they would soon find out the fate of lost loved ones.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">KEEP READING<\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><\/p>\n<article class=\"more-on__article css-m0f37v\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list 1 of 3<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"more-on__article-heading\"><a class=\"more-on__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/program\/the-stream\/2023\/2\/15\/why-hasnt-iraq-adopted-any-laws-against-domestic-violence?traffic_source=KeepReading\">Why hasn\u2019t Iraq adopted any laws against domestic violence?<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"more-on__article css-m0f37v\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list 2 of 3<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"more-on__article-heading\"><a class=\"more-on__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2023\/3\/7\/pentagon-chief-surprise-trip-says-us-troops-stay-iraq?traffic_source=KeepReading\">Pentagon chief, on surprise trip, says US troops to stay in Iraq<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"more-on__article css-m0f37v\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list 3 of 3<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"more-on__article-heading\"><a class=\"more-on__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2023\/2\/25\/iraqs-constitutional-reform-initiative-must-avoid-past-mistakes?traffic_source=KeepReading\">Iraq\u2019s constitutional reform process must avoid past mistakes<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/article>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Twenty years later, Mohammed, who was hit by two bullets but survived the mass killing in which his brother perished, and countless other\u00a0Iraqis are still waiting for answers.<\/p>\n<p>Dozens of mass graves were found, testimony to atrocities committed under Saddam\u2019s Baath Party. But work to identify victims of historic killings has been slow and partial in the chaos and conflict engulfing\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/where\/iraq\/\">Iraq<\/a>\u00a0in the past two decades.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I saw how mass graves were being opened, randomly, I decided to keep the location of the grave secret until a stronger state would be in place,\u201d Mohammed said.<\/p>\n<p>As exhumations dragged on, more atrocities were committed in sectarian conflict and amid the rise and fall of armed groups, such as al-Qaeda and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/features\/2022\/4\/12\/isil-20-how-the-group-became-a-franchise\">ISIL (ISIS)<\/a>, as well as Shia Muslim militias.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2131553\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2131553\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-arc-image-770 wp-image-2131553\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/AP060603040019.jpg?w=770&amp;resize=770%2C578&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"Human skull with blindfold lies next to a forensic tag\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2131553\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A human skull with blindfold lies next to a forensic tag, in a mass grave of skeletons unearthed by forensic experts in the desert south of Baghdad, Iraq, on June 3, 2006 [AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Today\u00a0Iraq\u00a0has one of the highest numbers of missing persons in the world, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which says estimates of the total range up to hundreds of thousands of people.<\/p>\n<p>It was another 10 years before Mohammed led a team of experts to the site where he, his brother and others were rounded up as Saddam\u2019s troops crushed a mainly Shia uprising at the end of the 1991 Gulf War.<\/p>\n<div class=\"container--ads in-article-ads\">\n<div class=\"ads\">\n<div class=\"ads__slot\">\n<div>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-337808826143\" class=\"freestar-ads\" data-google-query-id=\"CO-_7veT8P0CFX3KuwgdfOkC2Q\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>At the time, they were forced to their knees next to trenches summarily dug on the outskirts of the southern city of Najaf, and shot. Tens of thousands of Iraqis were killed by Saddam\u2019s forces during his rule.<\/p>\n<p>The remains of 46 people were exhumed from the site, now surrounded by farms, but Mohammed\u2019s brother was never found. He believes more bodies are still there, unaccounted for.<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-newsletter-slot\">\n<div class=\"sib-newsletter-form general-style\" aria-label=\"Newsletter signup Widget\">\n<div class=\"sib-form-container\">\n<div class=\"sib-container--large sib-container--horizontal\">\n<div class=\"sign-up-for-al-jazeera-container\">\n<h3 class=\"sign-up-for-al-jazeera\">\u00a0\u201cA country that is not dealing with its past will not be able to deal with its present or future,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the same time, I sometimes forgive the government. They have so many \u2026 victims to deal with.\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2131563\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2131563\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-arc-image-770 wp-image-2131563\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/AP03051309160.jpg?w=768&amp;resize=768%2C576&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"A woman grieves in front of coffins\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2131563\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A woman grieves in front of coffins of Shia people discovered in a mass grave, Basra, Iraq, in this video still from May 13, 2003 [AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Painful progress<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>According to the Martyrs Foundation \u2013 a governmental body involved in identifying victims and compensating their relatives \u2013 more than 260 mass graves have been unearthed so far, with dozens still closed.<\/p>\n<p>But resources are limited for such a huge task. In a section of the Ministry of Health in Baghdad, a team of about 100 people processes remains from mass graves, one site at a time.<\/p>\n<p>Department head Yasmine Siddiq said they have identified and matched DNA samples of around 2,000 individuals, out of about 4,500 exhumed bodies.<\/p>\n<div class=\"container--ads in-article-ads\">\n<div class=\"ads\">\n<div class=\"ads__slot\">\n<div>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-549952510648\" class=\"freestar-ads\" data-google-query-id=\"CN3a6_mT8P0CFRhPpAQdoHMFYA\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Lining the shelves of her storage room were remains of victims from the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq\u00a0war \u2013 skulls, cutlery, a watch, and other items that might help identify victims.<\/p>\n<p>The forensic efforts are complemented by archivists studying stacks of documents from Saddam\u2019s Baath Party, which was disbanded after his overthrow, for the names of missing persons yet to be identified.<\/p>\n<p>Mehdi Ibrahim, an official at the Martyrs Foundation, said that each week his team identifies about 200 new victims. The names are published on social media.<\/p>\n<p>So far the foundation has processed about half of the one million documents in its possession, just a fraction of Iraq\u2019s scattered archive. Most Baath Party-era documents are held by the government, while others were destroyed after the invasion.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2131545\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2131545\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-arc-image-770 wp-image-2131545\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/AP041012022046.jpg?w=770&amp;resize=770%2C578&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"Shoes and trousers lie in mass grave site\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2131545\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shoes and trousers lie in mass grave site, Hatra, northern Iraq, on October 12, 2004 [AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Some atrocities are more quickly examined than others.<\/p>\n<p>According to Siddiq, massacres committed by ISIL fighters, who seized much of northern Iraq in 2014 and held it for three violent years, have been prioritised.<\/p>\n<p>The highest identification rate for victims was achieved for an incident known as the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2019\/6\/12\/five-years-on-still-no-justice-for-iraqs-camp-speicher-victims\">Camp Speicher massacre<\/a>\u00a0by ISIL, a mass shooting of army recruits. \u201cMost families declared their missing ones and most bodies had been retrieved,\u201d Siddiq said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"container--ads in-article-ads\">\n<div class=\"ads\">\n<div class=\"ads__slot\">\n<div>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-598943666166\" class=\"freestar-ads\" data-google-query-id=\"CLPk_fuT8P0CFcNBpAQdvEwGkg\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Martyrs Foundation says the killings resulted in about 2,000 \u201cmartyrs\u201d, including 1,200 killed and 757 who remain missing.<\/p>\n<p>In Sinjar, where ISIL committed what United Nations investigators described as genocide against Iraq\u2019s Yazidi minority, about 600 victims have been reburied, with some 150 identified.<\/p>\n<p>Other disappearances remain unexplored. In Saqlawiya, a rural area near the Sunni town of Fallujah, families are losing hope of discovering the fate of more than 600 men captured when the area was retaken from ISIL by security forces.<\/p>\n<p>Shia militiamen seeking vengeance against ISIL rounded up Sunnis from the town of Saqlawiya, according to witnesses, UN workers, Iraqi officials and Human Rights Watch.<\/p>\n<p>From her living room in Saqlawiya, furnished with just a carpet and a thin mattress, Ikhlas Talal wept as she scrolled through pictures of her husband and 13 other male relatives who disappeared in early June 2016.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"fluid-vids\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"youtube-player-0\" class=\"youtube-player pause-controller in-content\" title=\"Iraq's new gov't struggles to deliver on promises 100 days in\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9EuWZT2xyMA?version=3&amp;rel=1&amp;showsearch=0&amp;showinfo=1&amp;iv_load_policy=1&amp;fs=1&amp;hl=en-US&amp;autohide=2&amp;wmode=transparent&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;enablejsapi=1\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>\u2018We are not priority\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Talal did not want to describe the men in uniform who took them away, fearing retribution. But she and other women from the neighbourhood have searched for their husbands, fathers and sons for years, travelling across\u00a0Iraq\u00a0and contacting prisons and hospitals \u2013 all in vain.<\/p>\n<div class=\"container--ads in-article-ads\">\n<div class=\"ads\">\n<div class=\"ads__slot\">\n<div>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-675766997818\" class=\"freestar-ads\" data-google-query-id=\"CPeQmvyT8P0CFaZRpAQdtKwOrw\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe\u00a0Iraqi government must take all steps to locate the disappeared and to hold the perpetrators accountable,\u201d said Ahmed Benchemsi of Human Rights Watch.<\/p>\n<p>The Martyrs Foundation and\u00a0Iraq\u2019s Interior Ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the Saqlawiya case.<\/p>\n<p>Abdul Kareem al-Yasiri, a local commander for the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) whose unit is currently based near Saqlawiya, denied the PMF had any role in the disappearance of people from the area in the war with ISIL.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese accusations are baseless and politicised to smear our troops and we reject them,\u201d he said, adding that he believed ISIL was behind the disappearances.<\/p>\n<p>Talal is seeking to have her husband officially recognised as a martyr so she could claim a monthly pension of about $850.<\/p>\n<div class=\"container--ads in-article-ads\">\n<div class=\"ads\">\n<div class=\"ads__slot\">\n<div>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-254351343020\" class=\"freestar-ads\" data-google-query-id=\"CNivqfyT8P0CFUBOpAQd988AkQ\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/15184186,5287\/aljazeera_incontent_5_1__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe are not a priority,\u201d she said, surrounded by half a dozen children who she barely manages to feed with the assistance of local NGOs and small-scale farming.<\/p>\n<p>Questions remain even over the better-reported incidents.<\/p>\n<p>Majid Mohammed last spoke to his son, a combat medic, in June 2014 before the Camp Speicher massacre. His name was not among the hundreds of victims identified by Siddiq\u2019s team, and Mohammed remains in limbo. His wife Nadia Jasim said successive governments had failed to address the enforced disappearances.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll Iraqi mothers\u2019 hearts are broken because of their sons who disappeared,\u201d she said. \u201cWith all the time that passed since 2003, we should have found a solution. Why are people still disappearing?\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"fluid-vids\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"youtube-player-1\" class=\"youtube-player pause-controller in-content\" title=\"On the frontline of one of Iraq\u2019s biggest youth protests | Witness Documentary\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ilOXTfF5-10?version=3&amp;rel=1&amp;showsearch=0&amp;showinfo=1&amp;iv_load_policy=1&amp;fs=1&amp;hl=en-US&amp;autohide=2&amp;start=6&amp;wmode=transparent&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;enablejsapi=1\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-source\">SOURCE:\u00a0REUTER<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Iraqis still haunted by Saddam-era disappearances after his fall Iraq\u00a0has one of the highest numbers of missing persons in the world, according to the Red Cross. Iraqi man Rahim Habash cries beside a numbered steel sign that marks where the remains of his son Salem lie at a cemetery for those who disappeared during Saddam &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawtoroba.com\/Eng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawtoroba.com\/Eng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawtoroba.com\/Eng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawtoroba.com\/Eng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawtoroba.com\/Eng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sawtoroba.com\/Eng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2982\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawtoroba.com\/Eng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawtoroba.com\/Eng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawtoroba.com\/Eng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}