Tehran, Jan 30 (IANS): The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani has said that the recent discovery of new mass graves of "innocent" indigenous children in Canada is evidence of a "major human tragedy" that can only be described as "genocide".

Making the remark in a statement published on the Ministry's website, Kanaani on Sunday slammed the Canadian government's reluctance to provide sufficient and transparent information about the graves, saying it is indicative of the depth of the "human disaster" and reminiscent of the "crimes" committed during the "oppressive and racist" British rule in Canada.

The "horrible" crime has been committed in a country whose government has always tried to pass itself off as an advocate of human rights by putting on "deceptive and hypocritical" shows and to make meddlesome remarks about other states' developments, he added.

On Wednesday, Williams Lake First Nation announced at a press conference that an investigative team had found 66 more potential unmarked graves at a former residential school in British Columbia, Xinhua news agency reported.

With the new discovery, 159 graves have so far been found at the former St. Joseph's Mission Residential School, where 93 were uncovered in May 2021.