Azerbaijan unearths 23 mass graves in liberated regions

Excavations in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan, which began in February 2021, have uncovered 23 mass graves.

The remains of 187 individuals have been discovered across these sites, prompting a thorough investigation, Caliber.Az reports, citing the State Commission for Prisoners of War, Hostages, and Missing Citizens.

Biological samples have been taken from the families of the missing to assist in identifying the remains through DNA analysis.

The commission revealed that some of the remains belong to missing Azerbaijanis.

Commenting on the missing persons, Secretary of the State Commission for Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons Gazanfar Ahmadov said that Armenia's military aggression led to 3,983 Azerbaijani citizens going missing. Of these, 3,977 went missing during First Karabakh War, six – during the Second Karabakh War. Among the missing individuals, 3,209 are servicemen, 774 are civilians.

The missing persons include 3,698 men and 285 women. During the reporting period, the commission registered 1,702 individuals who were released from captivity, including 419 servicemen.

In a related development, an event on missing persons held in Baku saw presentation of the “Assessment Report on the Search for Missing Persons in the Republic of Azerbaijan” prepared by the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).

The report revealed that the remains of 192 people who died in the First Karabakh War and were buried without identification in 23 cemeteries located in different cities and districts of the republic have been exhumed.

As of March 1, 2025, 165 bodies had been identified and the remains had been returned to their families.

By Khagan Isayev