Yazidi Mass Grave Found in Northern Iraq

An Iraqi inspects the remains of Yazidis killed by ISIS jihadist group near the village of Sinuni, in the northwestern Sinjar area on February 3, 2015. AFP
An Iraqi inspects the remains of Yazidis killed by ISIS jihadist group near the village of Sinuni, in the northwestern Sinjar area on February 3, 2015. AFP
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Yazidi Mass Grave Found in Northern Iraq

An Iraqi inspects the remains of Yazidis killed by ISIS jihadist group near the village of Sinuni, in the northwestern Sinjar area on February 3, 2015. AFP
An Iraqi inspects the remains of Yazidis killed by ISIS jihadist group near the village of Sinuni, in the northwestern Sinjar area on February 3, 2015. AFP

Iraqi officials said they found another mass grave in the northern Sinjar region on Wednesday containing the bodies of dozens of members of the Yazidi minority killed by the ISIS terrorist group.

"The mass grave contains the bodies of 73 people, men, women and children executed by ISIS when they controlled the region," local official Chokor Melhem Elias told AFP.

He said Iraqi security forces made the latest discovery in the Rambussi area near the town of Qahtaniyya.

In 2014, ISIS killed thousands of Yazidis in Sinjar and kidnapped thousands of the community's women and girls as sex slaves.

The United Nations estimates 3,000 of them are still being held captive.

Kurdish fighters backed by the US-led coalition recaptured Sinjar from ISIS in November 2015 before Iraqi security forces took control of the region in October.

Also, 10 days ago, mass graves containing at least 400 bodies were found near Hawija, an Iraqi city that was occupied by ISIS fighters until last month.

Kirkuk province's governor, Rakan Said, said they were found at an airbase just outside the city.

Some of the victims were in civilian clothes but others were wearing the jumpsuits that ISIS used to dress people who were condemned to death.

As government troops have advanced across Iraq, they have discovered dozens of mass graves in areas that fell under the jihadists' brutal rule. Last year the Associated Press published a survey of mass graves that identified 72 sites. They could contain from 5,200 to more than 15,000 bodies, the news agency said.



France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.