Iraq exhumes +65 mass graves of Yazidi victims in Sinjar
Specialized forensic teams have exhumed 68 out of 162 known burial sites—both mass and individual—where ISIS committed massacres against Yazidi civilians across Sinjar district since 2014, according to the Investigation and Evidence-Gathering Authority in Duhok.
Nechirvan Suleiman, head of the Authority, told Shafaq News that excavation efforts continue in partnership with local and international organizations to open the remaining graves and formally document evidence of the crimes.
So far, the identities of 293 victims have been confirmed and buried in designated cemeteries in Sinjar, while the remains of over 450 individuals are still unidentified, he noted, adding that 'the fate of 2,883 Yazidis is still unknown.'
Calling for increased technical and logistical support to accelerate the process and ensure accuracy, Suleiman pointed out that excavation teams are working under harsh conditions due to difficult terrain, weather challenges, and overlapping skeletal remains.
Families of victims and the missing have renewed their calls to speed up excavation and uncover the fate of their loved ones who remain underground and unidentified.
Soumaya Khalaf, a Yazidi woman whose father and two brothers were abducted, told Shafaq News that the remains of one relative were recovered and buried in the Kojo cemetery—designated for Yazidi victims of ISIS in Sinjar—while the others remain missing.
Jalal Jassim, another relative, said his son and two brothers disappeared more than 11 years ago, and the family has received no information about their fate, despite repeated follow-ups with relevant authorities and submitting DNA samples.
Yazidi lawmaker Mahma Khalil revealed earlier that more than 2,300 Yazidis remain missing, and 52 of 93 documented mass graves in Sinjar have yet to be opened.
The Yazidi community, a Kurdish-speaking ethno-religious minority in Iraq, faced persecution by ISIS after the group seized Sinjar on August 3, 2014. Around 1,290 Yazidis were killed, and over 70 mass graves have since been uncovered. The community, numbering about 500,000 in Iraq, observes its New Year on April 17, which the Kurdistan Regional Government has designated a public holiday.
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