UN: Over 200 mass graves of Daesh victims found in Iraq

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - More than 200 mass graves containing the remains of thousands of victims have been discovered in areas formerly controlled by Daesh terrorist group in Iraq, according to a UN report on Tuesday.

"The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the UN Human Rights Office have documented the existence of 202 mass grave sites in the governorates of Ninewa, Kirkuk, Salah al-Din and Anbar in the northern and western parts of the country – but there may be many more," the report said.

It said it was difficult to determine the total number of people in these graves, adding: "The smallest site, in west Mosul, contained eight bodies while the biggest is believed to be the Khasfa sinkhole south of Mosul which may contain thousands."

Between June 2014 and Dec. 2017, the report said, Daesh seized large areas of Iraq and led “a campaign of widespread violence and systematic violations of international human rights and humanitarian law – acts that may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possible genocide."