Iraq returns Kuwaiti archives and property three decades after invasion
Iraq has handed over to Kuwait a new batch of property and documents seized by the Iraqi army during its invasion more than three decades ago from the tiny emirate, which is still seeking to uncover the fate of hundreds of its prisoners who went missing during the occupation, Kuwaiti media reported on Monday.
"Kuwait is ready to do its utmost to put an end to this humanitarian file by identifying the fate of the prisoners and the missing," said Kuwaiti foreign minister's adviser Naser al Hien, who was quoted in several media reports.
Al Hien clarified that this is the third batch of national archives handed over to Kuwait in recent years under a 2013 UN resolution providing for the return of property and remains of Kuwaiti and other nationals who went missing during the Iraqi occupation between August 1990 and February 1991.
This new batch includes Kuwaiti television devices and film tapes, and other property belonging to the Ministry of Information, the National Council for Culture, Arts and Literature, and Kuwait University.
On the other hand, Al Hien said that the Iraqi delegation that attended the handover of these goods will receive, on Tuesday, the remains of an Iraqi soldier found on the Kuwaiti island of Bubiyan, and identified after DNA tests.
In September 2020, Iraq handed over the remains of 21 Kuwaiti and other prisoners of war found in the Samawa desert in southeastern Iraq, who are among the 605 missing persons claimed by the tiny emirate.
Iraq invaded Kuwait on 2 August 1990 and announced the annexation of the oil-rich country seven days later, triggering the so-called 'Second Gulf War', in which a coalition of 34 countries led by the US liberated the emirate six months later.
Kuwait did not re-establish relations with its northern neighbour until 2004, after the overthrow of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein by the US military intervention in Iraq in March 2003.
The authorities in Baghdad and Kuwait have since cooperated, under the auspices of the UN, to close the file on missing property and prisoners, as well as the payment of compensation valued at $52.4 billion to Kuwait for losses caused by the invasion.