BBC News reports that a mass grave has been discovered in the city of Karbala south of Baghdad. Dozens of bodies of men, women and children were found by workmen who were digging to install a new water pipe in the center of town. The bodies were apparently those of Shia rebels killed by Saddam Hussein's army after its defeat in the 1991 Gulf War.
As many as 30,000 people were killed by Saddam Hussein's army after the 1991 Gulf war, and many of them were buried in mass graves. The Republican Guard crushed the rebellion and tens of thousands of people across the south were imprisoned, tortured and killed.
As Captain's Quarters points out,
"The grave contains what the BBC refers to as "rebels" from the 1991 uprisings against Hussein following the defeat of Saddam's forces in Kuwait, but one has to wonder why they would call the children rebels. . . . . Clothing found with the bodies indicated that they included men, women and children."
"Had this grave contained the remains of men only, one could understand the explanation of its existence to bury rebels killed in an open battle. However, the presence of women -- not usually associated with Shi'ite political or military activity -- and especially children point to something else entirely. It sounds almost as if the BBC wants to couch this discovery in terms favorable to Saddam. The BBC assumes that all Shi'ites rebelled against the Saddam government, which would make all Shi'ites open targets for reprisals."
"This mass grave shows something different than just a rebellion gone bad. It demonstrates that Saddam put down a rebellion among the Shi'a by indiscriminately killing civilians and dumping the bodies where they presumed no one would ever find them. That makes Saddam and his henchmen genocidal maniacs and mass murderers -- not exactly news to anyone, or at least anyone outside of the offices of the BBC."
The dead of Saddam Hussein's regime are crying out for justice.
Will they be heard?
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