In case you’re one of these people who still doesn’t understand why we went to war in Iraq, here’s yet another good reason.
Investigators have uncovered a mass grave in southern
Iraq containing as many as 1,500 bodies, most of them thought to be Kurds forcibly removed from their homes in the late 1980s.The site, near the town of Samawa, about 180 miles south of Baghdad, consists of 18 shallow trenches dug by earth-moving vehicles into hard limestone rock.
Most of the victims were women and children who were apparently lined up in front of the pits and shot with AK-47 assault rifles, according to a U.S. investigator.
Around 110 bodies have been excavated from the site so far, nearly two thirds of them children and teenagers.
They are being forensically examined and evidence gathered will be used to build cases against
Saddam Hussein and his top deputies for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.The site appears to have been carefully chosen and was well concealed, factors prosecutors believe will convince a court of the systematic nature of the crime.
Many of the victims were wearing clothing that is traditionally Kurdish, and even specific to certain villages. They were wrapped in multiple layers, suggesting they knew they were being moved somewhere, investigators said.
The site was first identified early last year by the U.S. Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, but proper examination did not begin until early this month and finished on April 24.
