Shame exhumed

Investigators have uncovered a mass grave in southern Iraq containing as many as 1,500 bodies, most of them thought to be Kurds forcibly removed from their homes in the late 1980s.

The site, near Samawa, about 300 km south of Baghdad, consists of 18 shallow trenches. Most of the victims were women and children who were apparently lined up in front of the pits and shot with AK-47 assault rifles, a US investigator said. Around 110 bodies have been excavated, nearly two thirds of them children and teenagers. They are being examined and evidence gathered will be used to build cases against Saddam Hussein and his top deputies for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

The site was identified last year by the US Coalition Provisional Authority, but proper examination did not begin until early this month.