The remains of 267 individuals who went missing during the First and Second Garabagh wars have been returned to their families, according to the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
As reported by the Operative Information Center-OMM, 85 individuals were returned to their families and laid to rest this year, including 21 in August and 64 between January and August.
To date, human remains belonging to 910 individuals have been discovered and exhumed, with 84 of these findings occurring within the first eight months of this year. Through advanced DNA analysis and forensic methods, the identities of 328 missing persons have been confirmed, 57 of which were identified in the first eight months of the current year.
Furthermore, ongoing investigations in the liberated territories have led to the discovery of 32 mass graves, providing critical evidence regarding the fate of those who disappeared during the conflict. The State Commission notes that, as a result of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, 4,010 Azerbaijani citizens remain registered as missing.
The search for missing persons remains a top priority for the Azerbaijani government. Following the liberation of Garabagh in 2020, extensive demining and excavation operations have been underway to locate the burial sites of victims. The identification process is complex, requiring international cooperation and rigorous forensic analysis to provide closure to the families of the missing.
