Shafaq News/ The Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Investigative and Evidence Collection Agency reported on Tuesday that it has discovered 819 mass graves across Sinjar and Nineveh over the past decade following ISIS's invasion of these areas. The graves include both individual and mass burial sites.
Nechirvan Suleiman, head of the agency, revealed to Shafaq News Agency that 420 of these graves have been excavated. "Among the remains uncovered, 170 individuals have been identified, with their remains interred in dedicated cemeteries in Sinjar. Approximately 200 individuals remain unidentified."
The number of individuals still missing is approximately 2,136 people.
"The agency continues its work in collaboration with local families and communities to ascertain the identities of the remaining victims," Suleiman added. Blood samples from around 4,000 individuals have been collected for testing, a crucial part of the ongoing effort to identify the missing and return their remains to their families.
The agency also reported that "12 survivors from the mass graves in Sinjar serve as key witnesses to the atrocities committed by ISIS and are integral to documenting these crimes and holding perpetrators accountable."
Kheiri Ali, head of the Petrichor Organization for Human Rights in Sinjar, criticized the slow pace of the exhumation process. "Since the start of the exhumation operations in 2019, only 55 out of 92 identified mass graves have been opened. To date, 242 Yazidi remains have been identified, returned, and reburied with ceremonial rites in Sinjar," he said.
Ali highlighted several challenges, including the large-scale migration of victims' families abroad, which complicates the collection of blood samples for identification. Additionally, logistical issues have further impeded the progress of the exhumation efforts.
In interviews with Shafaq News Agency, family members of the victims expressed their distress and urgent need for answers. Jassim Khalaf, who lost seven family members, said, "Our hopes are still hanging in the balance. We need the process to be expedited so we can find peace after such a long wait."
Alia Jardo, who lost her husband and one of her daughters, shared her ongoing pain. "It has been ten years and we are still waiting in vain. I just want to know their fate—whether they are alive or dead. My heart aches every day; we need closure."