After the start of the second stage of exhuming the mass graves in Shingal, the remains of 124 persons were sent to Baghdad for forensic examination.
The second stage of exhuming the mass graves in Shingal was kicked off on 25 October 2020 with the presence of UN representatives, government officials and Ezidi religious figures, after one year had passed since the end of the first stage.
Falah Hasan, a member of the excavation team, told KirkukNow: “The excavation of the mass graves took place at three locations in Shingal; we have managed to excavate three [mass] graves in two weeks.”
One of those mass graves is located in Solagh region and is dubbed mothers’ grave. It contained the remains of tens of Ezidi women who were murdered by ISIS militants.
The other two are in Shingal town and the village of Kojo.
“The remains of 124 were exhumed from those three [mass] graves, most of which were [of] women,” said Falah Hasan, and adding that the examination process is complex and will take a long time.
According to numbers from the According National Team for Excavating Mass Graves, in the first stage, the remains of 364 persons were exhumed from 17 mass graves between 15 March 2019, when the first stage started, and July 2019.
Those remains are still in Baghdad after being sent there a year ago.
Falah Hasan says that his team has returned to Baghdad and it is not clear when the next stage will start.
According to KRG numbers, 2,293 Ezidis were killed by ISIS militants in 2014, and so far, 80 mass graves have been discovered.
