Remains of around 800 missing persons discovered in Azerbaijani liberated lands — official

As of October 1, remains believed to belong to around 800 missing persons have been discovered in territories liberated from occupation.

The head of the State Security Service (SSS) and Chairman of the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons, Ali Naghiyev, speaking at the international conference “Uniting Efforts and Expanding Cooperation to Address the Issue of Missing Persons” in Baku, stated that excavations in these areas uncovered 29 mass graves, from which the remains of approximately 218 individuals were exhumed with the participation of investigative authorities, Caliber.Az reports.

“Large-scale construction and restoration works, along with other activities in the liberated territories, led to the discovery and exhumation of remains believed to belong to 342 people. Furthermore, the remains of 210 individuals who died during the First Karabakh War and were buried without identification were exhumed from graves at 31 cemeteries across 20 cities and districts of the republic,” he added.

Naghiyev also highlighted ongoing efforts to clarify the fate of other missing persons.

“As of today, biological samples from more than 11,000 donors have been collected and systematised to determine the fate of over 3,800 missing individuals. Experts positively assess the collection of these samples, covering the vast majority of missing persons. I want to emphasise that identifying the burial sites of our missing citizens and conducting the necessary exhumation works remains one of the most important tasks of the State Commission,” he noted.

By Khagan Isayev