Kuwait hands back remains of Iraq gulf war dead

[blonde_minx]

04/07/2011 14:53

Basra, July 4 (AKnews) – Kuwait returned the remains of 32 soldiers killed during the 1991 gulf war to Iraq today, the Ministry of Human Rights in South Iraq said.

"The handover ceremony took place today amid a solemn ceremony organized by the Iraqi armed forces on the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border at Safwan crossing, west of Basra city," Said Mahdi al-Tamimi, head of the office.

Iraqi and Kuwaiti officials were present.

Most of the soldiers will now be given a fitting burial. However, the identity of some has not yet been discerned.

“A large number of the remains are unidentified” said al-Tamimi, “Therefore, they have to transferred to Baghdad’s forensic department.”

These 32 bodies brought the number of soldiers remains recovered from Kuwait since 2006 to 212.

In 1991, Saddam Hussein’s army marched into Kuwait following territorial disputes which led the international community to take action in a war that forced the Iraqi army out of Kuwait. Thousands of Iraqi troops were killed in the US-led coalition attacks with many hundreds of bodies not being returned to Iraq.

Kuwait and Iraq’s relations remain strained 20 years after the conflict, with disputes over the border, reparation payments and oil fields that straddle the border. However, recent years have seen some improvement, with concessions, such as the one made by Kuwait today, made by both sides.

http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/4/250096/

[tjmunson]

"made by both sides". The last line speaks volumes. Iraq needs to reciprocate. Kudos to Kuwait for doing this.

Peace

[dflake]

Maybe the first major step towards peace on the playgrounds. I take this as good news. Thanks for the post.

[TBnhispower]

Another important step IMO.

[k98nights]

Remains of 32 Iraqi soldiers handed over by Kuwait

7/4/2011 7:27 PM

BASRA / Aswat al-Iraq: The human rights director in Basra said today that the Ministry of Human Rights, in cooperation of the Ministry of Defense and the International Red Cross, that the remains from 32 bodies were received from Kuwait, pointing out it is the seventh such exchange between the two countries.

Mehdi al-Timimi stated in a press conference at Safwan border vent, west of Basra, that the remains were from the Second Gulf War.

The identities of eight bodies were known.

The ceremony was attended by Iraqi ambassador to Kuwait Mohammed Hussein Bahr al-Ulum and Commander of 14th Military Division.

This is the seventh exchange between the two countries.

Kuwait has handed over the remains from 87 bodies, while Iraq handed over more than 350 out of 604, according to Kuwaiti sources.

RM (TS)/SR

http://en.aswataliraq.info/Default1.aspx?page=article_page&id=143567&l=1