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Investigators Unearth Grim Clues to Convict Saddam
Investigators have conducted their first scientific exhumation of Iraq's "killing fields," discovering hundreds of bodies which they hope will help convict Saddam Hussein of crimes against humanity. They say nine trenches in a dry, dusty riverbed at the Hatra site in northern Iraq contain at least 300 bodies, and possibly thousands, including unborn babies and toddlers still clutching toys. "It is my personal opinion that this is a killing field," said Greg Kehoe, a U.S. lawyer appointed by the White House to work with the Iraqi Special Tribunal. "Someone used this field on significant occasions over time to take bodies up there, and to take people up there and execute them. I've been doing grave sites for a long time, but I've never seen anything like this, women and children executed for no apparent reason. It's a perfect place for execution." The victims are believed to be minority Kurds killed during 1987-88. One trench contains only women and children, apparently killed by small arms. Another contains only men, apparently killed by automatic gunfire. Kehoe said the women and children had been taken from their villages with their belongings, including pots and pans, shot -- often in the back of the head -- then bulldozed into the trench. Some of the mothers died still holding their children. One young boy still held a ball in his tiny arms. A thick stench hangs over the site, as well as at a makeshift morgue nearby. Posted by: Fred 2004-10-13 |
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