Page 27 - bon-dia-aruba-20200703

A27
WORLD NEWS Friday 3 July 2020
New mass grave unearthed in Iraq's north from brutal IS rule

By FARID ABDULWAHED and "But we will not make any
SAMYA KULLAB excavations or exhume the
Associated Press bodies due to the corona-
MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — A hu- virus situation in Mosul and
man skull, a pair of worn Iraq." At least 2,160 Iraqis
trousers and a shoe were have died among over
among the remains un- 53,000 confirmed cases of
earthed from a mass grave the virus across Iraq. The
discovered this week in country has seen an ex-
northern Iraq, a remnant of ponential increase in virus
the brutal rule of the Islamic cases in recent weeks.
State group, Iraqi officials Raouf estimates there are
said Thursday. over 100 bodies buried in
The new mass grave was the site, "but it could be
discovered on Monday in much more."
the village of Humeydat "We have a large database
near the Badoush area that contains samples from
west of the city of Mosul, six the relatives of those miss-
years after the IS group — ing and hopefully we will
at the height of its power — be able to identify these
declared a caliphate that bodies," he said.
stretched across eastern Prior to the virus outbreak,
Syria and much of northern Iraq faced challenges in
and western Iraq. People visit a mass grave for the victims of the Islamic State group in Mosul, Iraq on Thursday, July properly examining mass
Dozens of bodies were 1, 2020. Associated Press graves. A specialized direc-
found buried in a trench torate in the government
stretching hundreds of me- legedly killed up to 600 in- territory in Iraq, remnants with hands." tasked with opening and
ters (yards) long. Forensics mates in the prison, most of of the group are still active He had tried in vain to give inspecting mass grave sites
experts have carried out them Shiite detainees. Ac- and routinely carry out at- the victims a proper burial. is understaffed and lacks
an initial investigation but cording to an investigation tacks against Iraqi security Once, al-Nesr had offered space to store and identify
the spread of the novel by Human Rights Watch at forces. But memories of the a young man passing by human remains, according
coronavirus has impeded the time, based on eye- group's brutal reign per- in a truck 200,000 Iraq di- to a U.N. report in Novem-
excavations, medical of- witness accounts, at least sist, years after the military nars and a can of diesel to ber 2018.
ficials in Mosul told The As- 1,500 inmates were round- campaign to root them bury the bodies. He initially According to the report,
sociated Press. ed up and transported to out. Hussein al-Nesr, a resi- agreed, but was never meetings with officials from
While an investigation is a stretch of desert. There, dent of the Badoush area, heard from again. the Iraqi mass graves di-
needed to identify the Sunni and Shiite inmates is sorrowful the newly found The Mosul Martyrs Founda- rectorate revealed that its
bodies, many believe they were separated and the remains could not be given tion, a government institu- staff of 43 covers the en-
were Shiite convicts taken latter killed. a proper burial. tion caring for the families tire country — not enough
from the local Badoush pris- Iraqi security forces with as- "These are all filled with hu- of those killed under IS, to address the scale of
on by IS and killed by the sistance from the U.S.-led mans," he said, pointing examined the area ini- new discoveries. It also
militants, shortly after they coalition defeated IS and to the site where IS is be- tially, explained Dr. Hassan said there was not enough
seized Mosul in June 2014. reclaimed northern Iraq in lieved to have committed Raouf, head of Mosul's fo- equipment at the disposal
Iraqi forces recaptured the a 2016 military campaign. the massacre. "There are so rensics department, affiliat- of the government to ex-
prison in March 2017. IS al- Though IS no longer holds many, you can't bury them ed with the Health Ministry. cavate graves.q

EU leaders seek ‘dialogue’ with China over Hong Kong law

BERLIN (AP) — Two of the took over the EU's rotating "That means, I don't cur-
European Union's most six-month presidency this rently see that we need to
powerful individuals said week. do anything beyond that,"
Thursday that the 27-nation Stressing that ties with Chi- she said. European Com-
bloc will continue to discuss na are of "strategic impor- mission President Von der
human rights and the rule tance" to the European Leyen, whose arm of the EU
of law with China after Bei- Union, the German leader represents the entire bloc in
jing imposed a new security said it was important to trade talks with Beijing, said
law on Hong Kong. have "a relationship of trust it was in both sides' interests
But Ursula von der Leyen, where one can openly say to maintain the special sta-
who heads the EU's ex- one's opinions to each oth- tus of Hong Kong.
ecutive commission, and er with mutual respect." "One-sixth of Chinese ex-
German Chancellor An- "And there will be differ- ports of goods go to Eu-
gela Merkel stopped short ences of opinion, but I rope, and China sells goods President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen,
of threatening sanctions hope also common results," worth 320 billion euros ($359 left rear, addresses a joint press conference with German
against China or offering Merkel added. billion) to Europe alone ev- Chancellor Angela Merkel, attending by video conference on
screen right, at the start of the six month German Presidency of
asylum to Hong Kong dissi- Asked whether Germany ery year," she told reporters the EU at EU Headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, July 2, 2020.
dents, as others in the West would consider offering in Brussels and Berlin. Associated Press
have done. asylum to Hong Kong dis- "Hong Kong is still the most
"We will continue to seek sidents, the chancellor re- important hub for China's tus and the stability and have a strong interest in
dialogue and conversa- plied that German asylum economic exchange with the cosmopolitanism that ensuring that this level of
tion with China about this," law "is there for people ev- Europe, not least because this city has," von der Ley- cooperation at least con-
said Merkel, whose country erywhere." of the city's (...) special sta- en said. "Both sides should tinues." q