Iran-Iraq: ICRC helps repatriate remains of Iranian soldiers from 1980-1988 war

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a release on Tuesday that the “remains of nine Iranian soldiers were repatriated today at the Shalamjah border crossing, near Basra, under the auspices of the ICRC.” The statement noted that over 20 years after the end of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War, thousands of members of the armed forces of both countries remain unaccounted for. The statement received by IraqiNews.com news agency said that “the remains of the soldiers were handed over by the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights to the Search and Recovery Committee of the Iranian armed forces in the presence of ICRC delegates serving as neutral intermediaries on both sides of the border. The operation was carried out in accordance with a memorandum of understanding signed between Iran, Iraq and the ICRC in October 2008, aimed at determining what befell those who went missing in connection with the Iran-Iraq War.” “Now the families will finally be able to properly mourn the loss of their loved ones,” said Rania Machlab, the ICRC delegate in charge of the missing persons file in Tehran, who witnessed the handover. “This small but essential step in the process of establishing what happened to people who went missing during that war is taking place thanks to the commitment and determination of the authorities on both sides.” “Since the end of the war in 1988, the ICRC has supported both governments in their efforts to fulfil their obligations under international humanitarian law and clarify the fate of all those still unaccounted for,” the statement concluded. MH (P)/SR 2