Kurdistan Region Receives Remains of 153 Victims of Anfal Operations

ARK News.. After decades of being buried in desert mass graves, the Martyrs Foundation, in coordination with the Forensic Medicine Directorate, is making final preparations on Saturday, September 26, 2026, to hand over the remains of 153 victims of the Anfal operations to the relevant authorities in the Kurdistan Region for repatriation.

The Directorate for the Protection and Affairs of Mass Graves at the Martyrs Foundation said the step is part of ongoing efforts to determine the fate of missing persons and victims of mass graves. It said all 153 sets of remains belong to women and children who were executed by the former regime during the Anfal genocide campaign.

Search and excavation teams previously recovered the remains from a mass grave in the Samawah desert, one of the sites used by the former regime to bury victims of the campaign.

The remains are scheduled to be handed over to the relevant authorities in the Kurdistan Region, who will transport them and temporarily bury them pending completion of scientific and medical procedures, including DNA testing to accurately establish their identities.

The identified remains will subsequently be officially handed over to their families for permanent burial in a manner befitting their dignity.

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