Philippines: 14 missing from earthquake

16 persons have died while 14 people are still missing after an earthquake hit Philippine city of Porac, north of Manila, Reuters reports. The national disaster agency said the Monday earthquake injured 81 people and damaged 29 buildings across Luzon Island. https://reut.rs/2KVE8Xl

Death toll from Colombia landslide rises to 28

Rescuers have recovered 28 bodies after landslide in Colombian province of Cauca, Reuters reports. Rescue operations are still underway, according to the country’s disaster relief agency. https://reut.rs/2IzLKwF

Still 1.7 million Iraqis are IDPs

According to the report by International Organization for Migration still 1.7 million of Iraqi IDPs have not returned to their original places, and in many cases, those who did return to their homes still did not start living a normal life, KirkukNow reported. According to the report, 61 percent of the current IDPs are moved to the long term IDPs as they have…

Malaysian government examines flawed mass graves investigation

The Malaysian government has begun an inquiry into the discovery and investigation of 139 mass graves and more than 12 human trafficking camps in the country in 2015. Several human rights groups claimed that one of the camps was destroyed a day after it was discovered, which hindered police investigations, Channel News Asia reports. A panel will examine the allegations that authorities mishandled the investigation. https://bit.ly/2GiF8PK

Mexico: clandestine grave found in Veracruz

According to El Universal, a clandestine grave has been found in a rural property in the center of Veracruz, in eastern Mexico. The paper says the location of 36 possible human remains has been confirmed, and exhumations will begin in the coming days (Original article in Spanish). https://bit.ly/2Gopcvv

Gambia: exhumations undertaken at mass grave from 1994 coup

The Journal du Cameroun reports that a team of forensic experts of the Gambia police,…

Mexico: a new approach to accounting for the missing

The Spanish news agency, EFE, carries a report on efforts to account for thousands of missing persons in the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon. The state’s attorney general, Gustavo Adolfo Guerrero Gutierrez, says a new initiative will fight “crime with intelligence, not bullets,” thanks to the assistance of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP). Under a project launched in December last year and supported by USAID, ICMP is working with Citizens in Support of Human Rights (CADHAC), an NGO in Nuevo Leon, to support a process that brings domestic authorities together with families of the missing to build trust, facilitate information sharing, and sustain an effective effort to account for the missing. https://bit.ly/2UnxV5N

Additional Coverage in Spanish:

• https://bit.ly/2v5Dufc
• https://bit.ly/2Gd5h2h

Rwanda: Genocide victims exhumed from clandestine mass graves

The New Times from Rwanda reports that victims of the 1994…

Iraq: exhumation of mass grave in Sinjar

The remains of hundreds of Yezidis executed by Da’esh are believed to have been discovered at a mass grave in Kocho, Sinjar, Rudaw reports. The Iraqi government, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) and the United Nations are conducting an exhumation of the suspected mass grave sites. So far, 26 bodies have been recovered at the site in Kocho, although 500 victims’ remains are through to be buried there. http://bit.ly/2InQIfI

More than 3,000 Yezidis still missing

The Kurdistan Regional Government says more than 360,000 Yezidis are still living in displacement camps in the Dohuk Governorate. As many as 3,000 Yezidis are still missing since the liberation of the territory that was controlled by militants, Rudaw reports. https://bit.ly/2Iz21RD

Zimbabwe to excavate mass graves from the 1980s

The President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has promised an open discussion of “Gukurahundi”, the mass killings of those…