“In Solagh subdistrict, ISIL [Islamic State, ISIS] militants committed mass killings of Yazidi women, and buried them in a mass grave. The remains of two such graves will be exhumed to then be matched, based on DNA sampling, with surviving family members who finally get the opportunity to lay their loved ones to rest, appropriately and according to traditions,” read a press release.
After a ceremony that includes Yezidi religious rites, family members of victims of ISIS will be invited to provide DNA samples to help the investigatory teams identify the remains. Family members can also provide blood samples at Kocho primary school next week and in Shingal hospital.
Exhumations in Kocho began in March 2019. The grave to be exhumed on Saturday is the last of 17 mass graves in the village south of Shingal mountain, according to Yezidi advocacy group Yazda.
The exhumation is being carried out by the Iraqi government in coordination with the Kurdistan Regional Government, the United Nations investigation team to promote accountability for crimes committed by ISIS (UNITAD), the International Commission for Missing Persons, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The work is estimated to take until mid-November when the remains will be brought to Baghdad for identification.
ISIS militants swept across northern Iraq in August 2014, committing genocide against the Yezidis, an ethno-religious minority. In the first days of the ISIS attack, militants killed 1,293 people, according to figures from the Kurdistan Region’s office for rescuing kidnapped Yezidis. ISIS also captured 6,417 Yezidi women and children; 2,880 of whom remain missing.
