Health minister: identifying bodies of Armenian soldiers killed in Nagorno-Karabakh war completed
YEREVAN, February 17. /ARKA/. Armenian forensic experts have completed the process of identifying the bodies of soldiers killed in the 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 autumn, Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan said today.
She added that some remains were not possible to identify. The minister said that relatives of some killed soldiers, whose identification was completed, cannot find the strength to pick their remains and bury them.
"We understand that this is a difficult process. The Investigative Committee and other authorized agencies are working to make sure this process is completed as soon as possible," she said.
Earlier this year the International Committee of the Red Cross said there were approximately 300 people still missing from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict escalation in 2020. It said since a ceasefire agreement was signed in November 2020, the remains of more than 1,700 people have been found.
Armenia’s Investigative Committee published earlier this year the updated data on the losses of the Armenian side in the 44-day war, saying 3,809 people were killed and 199 servicemen and 21 civilians were missing. It said also that 141 military personnel and civilians were returned home from Azerbaijani captivity.
On September 27, 2020, Azerbaijani armed forces, backed by Turkey and foreign mercenaries and terrorists, attacked Nagorno-Karabakh along the entire front line using rocket and artillery weapons, heavy armored vehicles, military aircraft and prohibited types of weapons such as cluster bombs and phosphorus weapons.
After 44 days of the war, on November 9, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a statement on the cessation of all hostilities. According to the document, the town of Shushi, the districts of Agdam, Kelbajar and Lachin were handed over to Azerbaijan, with the exception of a 5-kilometer corridor connecting Karabakh with Armenia.
A Russian peacekeeping contingent was deployed along the contact line in Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor. -0
