Panama exhumes mass graves for victims of 1989 US invasion
Several bags with human remains have been exhumed from a mass grave in Panama amid searches for the victims of the US invasion of Panama in 1989, officials said on Thursday.
The military operation took the lives of some 300 civilians and marked the end of the dictatorship of General Manuel Noriega. For years, families have called for a search for the remains of those who died, many of whom were buried in mass graves.
Attorney General Geomara Guerra said four bags of remains have been recovered so far at the Monte Esperanza cemetery in the city of Colon.
"We plan to keep doing the work to dig in the earth and see how many more bags could be there," he told reporters. The remains were discovered in the same bags that US soldiers distributed for burials, he added.
They halted the effort due to coronavirus restrictions. Human rights organizations have long estimated the true number of Panamanian victims could be higher than the official toll of 300, prompting former President Juan Carlos Varela to establish a commission to investigate the true number.
Only 23 American soldiers lost their lives in the assault. The invasion is an open wound for many Panamanians who each year commemorate the event and have called for the anniversary, Dec. 20, to be declared a day of national mourning.
(Source: Reuters)
Barbados officially announces recognition of Palestine as state
Mexico asks UN to expel Equador following embassy raid
Nicaragua closes embassy in Berlin after suing Germany over Gaza genocide
VIDEO | German warship departs Red Sea as EU 'naval mission' fails
VIDEO | Palestinians inspect rubble of destroyed building in Rafah
Yemeni forces strike US, Israeli vessels in fresh pro-Palestinian operations
‘Say no to Biden’: US college being pressed not to endorse genocide
VIDEO | UN: Alarming food insecurity crisis grips Afghanistan
VIDEO | Stuck in quagmire
UK suspends legal assessments of Israeli violations in Gaza
Students protest at US universities to urge end in financial ties to Israel
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
