Iraq mourns the first set of remains of Yazidi genocide victims
More than six years after the massacre, before their burial in Sinjar on Feb. 4, Iraqis held a funeral for Yazidis who were murdered en masse by the Islamic State in 2014.
An official funeral ceremony was held today in Baghdad's Celebration Square to bid farewell to the remains of 104 Yazidi genocide victims killed by the Islamic State (IS) in August 2014.
The remains were excavated from some of the more than 80 mass graves in Sinjar, of which only a few have been opened. DNA tests to identify the victims were conducted by the Iraqi Medico-Legal Department of the Martyrs Foundation, in cooperation with the International Commission on Missing Persons and the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da'esh/ISIL (IS). The coffins will be transported by air to Sinjar, where a burial ceremony will take place according to Yazidi rituals on Feb. 6 in the presence of a large throng of the public as well as social, religious and secular figures. Local and international institutions will provide psychological support to the victims‘ families throughout the memorial service, which spans seven days in accordance with Yazidi traditions.
