US-Medien im Krieg

Dudi, Sonntag, 18. Mai 2003, 10:12 (vor 7860 Tagen) @ Evi Dentz

VICTIMS OF MASS GRAVES

Hundreds of Iraqi people are trying to identify
their loved ones at several mass graves, holding
around 15,000 victims of Saddam Hussein´s regime.

The graves were discovered last week in the
central city of Hilla, site of ancient Babylon.


The bodies are thought to date back to the Shiite
uprising that followed the US withdrawal from Iraq
in 1991.

"In the last week, four sites have been discovered
in Al-Hilla city alone, with approximately 15,000
bodies," said Entifadh Qanbar, a spokesman of the
INC.

´Collecting bones´

"Citizens are excavating with great sadness and no
assistance, collecting bones.

"Mothers and fathers are trying to identify their
children with ID cards and scraps of clothes that
they were last seen in," he said.



Up to 15,000 bodies found





He appealed to the US-led coalition´s Office for
Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, and
other organisations to help the Iraqi people
account for hundreds of thousands still missing.

A US army official in Hilla could not confirm the
find in the graves, situated around 60 miles south
of Baghdad.

Torture

But a spokesman from the Iraqi National Congress
said that over a million people were killed during
Saddam´s reign.

He also said that there was evidence of torture
and murder among the 15,000 bodies found in Hilla.

US marines at the site said the bones included
those of children aged around 10-12.

The International Committee of the Red Cross
announced at the end of April that it had
contacted coalition forces and a number of aid
agencies to try to check numerous reports about
mass graves in Iraq.




Last Updated: 11:49 UK, Wednesday May 14, 2003