Anbar provincial council voices support for families of missing persons, awaits DNA results

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The Anbar Provincial Council met with relatives of missing persons and human rights groups at the provincial council headquarters on the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, council chief Hamid al-Ulewi said. Speaking at the event, al-Ulewi said the council had formed an internal commission to follow up on a mass grave uncovered in the Akaz area of Saqlawiyah district, and that DNA testing on remains had not yet been completed. He added that he had met with Prime Minister Ali al-Zaydi and received assurances that payments to families of martyrs and the wounded would begin soon, following complaints that the Martyrs' Institution had not adequately represented affected families. Human Rights Organization representative Abdulazim Adel renewed calls for clarity on the fate of the missing and for compensation to their families. Sinay al-Muhammadi, a relative of one of the missing from Saqlawiyah, said families had received no results in 11 years despite 17 separate case files being renewed, and asked that a health team be deployed to Saqlawiyah to facilitate the collection of DNA samples.