Red Cross facilitates exchange of remains of soldiers killed on both sides of Iran-Iraq war

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced on Wednesday that it participated in the surrender that day of more than 30 Iraqi and Iranian soldiers killed in the deadly war between the two nations in the years 1980.

Under the auspices of the #CICR, the remains of 11 Iraqi soldiers and 20 Iranian soldiers were repatriated today to their respective countries on the southern border of Shalamcha, #Basra.
We will continue to support the relevant authorities in providing responses to the families of #faded away.#Iraq pic.twitter.com/qdvBacfdvr

– ICRC Iraq (@ICRC_IQ) October 6, 2021

“Under the auspices of the ICRC, the remains of 11 Iraqi soldiers and 20 Iranian soldiers were repatriated to their respective countries today at the southern border of Shalamcha, Basra,” wrote the official Twitter account of the Iraqi office of the organization in a message.

“We will continue to support the relevant authorities by providing answers to the families of the missing. “

The ICRC is supporting the efforts of the Iranian and Iraqi authorities by helping to repatriate human remains between the two countries, which it has also done in other war-torn countries.

A memorandum of understanding aimed at clarifying the fate of persons missing in connection with the 1980-1988 war was signed in 2008 in Geneva by the Iraqi and Iranian governments and the ICRC.

Since then, the remains of several Iraqi and Iranian soldiers have been repatriated.

More than 30 years after the war, many Iraqi and Iranian families remain without news of their loved ones killed in the conflict, which has left hundreds of thousands dead.

The remains of soldiers killed in the # Iran–#Iraq war are still repatriated, and many are still missing 33 years after the end of the war. A reminder of the duration of the consequences of wars. https://t.co/QbId06jcLC

– Donatella Rovera (@DRovera) October 6, 2021

Donatella Rovera, Senior Crisis Advisor at Amnesty International who works on Iraq, said: “The remains of soldiers killed in the Iran-Iraq war are still being repatriated, and many are still missing 33 years after the end of the war. .

She added that it is a reminder of the duration of the consequences of wars.