Over 4,000 Azeris are missing in conflict aftermath
4,166 Azerbaijanis are currently registered by the
responsible state agency as persons missing as a result of
hostilities with Armenia in the early 1990s. These include 47
children, 255 women and 354 senior citizens. Data is available on
the capture of 783 of these persons, Firudin Sadygov, the head of a
taskforce told a meeting of the State Commission on Prisoners of
War, Hostages and Missing Persons early last week.
The fate of 896 people who were captured or went missing has been determined through an official search, including the fates of 50 people resolved during work performed from January-August 2009. The commission established that 344 persons who were unaccounted for are alive, while 258 others have died. Four people went missing outside the battle zone and 290 people were repeatedly included in the list.
1,396 Azerbaijanis have so far been released from Armenian captivity. These include 169 children, 343 women and 289 elderly people. It was also determined that six persons who had been captured by Armenians were taken to third countries.
However, according to Sadygov, the names of 295 Azerbaijani POWs and missing persons have not been included in the list of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The Commission representative also said that, during the first eight months of 2009, five soldiers and one civilian who mistakenly crossed from Armenia to Azerbaijani territory were repatriated and one serviceman was handed over to another country with the aid of the United Nations.
The chairman of the state commission, National Security Minister Eldar Mahmudov, requested assistance in determining the fate of Azerbaijani missing persons from the UN and ICRC representatives attending the meeting.
Armenia and Azerbaijan waged a war in the early 1990s, which claimed some 30,000 lives and displaced about one million Azerbaijanis. Armenia has been occupying over 20% of Azerbaijan`s internationally recognized territory since then. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994, but the OSCE-brokered peace talks have accomplished little, so far.
The fate of 896 people who were captured or went missing has been determined through an official search, including the fates of 50 people resolved during work performed from January-August 2009. The commission established that 344 persons who were unaccounted for are alive, while 258 others have died. Four people went missing outside the battle zone and 290 people were repeatedly included in the list.
1,396 Azerbaijanis have so far been released from Armenian captivity. These include 169 children, 343 women and 289 elderly people. It was also determined that six persons who had been captured by Armenians were taken to third countries.
However, according to Sadygov, the names of 295 Azerbaijani POWs and missing persons have not been included in the list of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The Commission representative also said that, during the first eight months of 2009, five soldiers and one civilian who mistakenly crossed from Armenia to Azerbaijani territory were repatriated and one serviceman was handed over to another country with the aid of the United Nations.
The chairman of the state commission, National Security Minister Eldar Mahmudov, requested assistance in determining the fate of Azerbaijani missing persons from the UN and ICRC representatives attending the meeting.
Armenia and Azerbaijan waged a war in the early 1990s, which claimed some 30,000 lives and displaced about one million Azerbaijanis. Armenia has been occupying over 20% of Azerbaijan`s internationally recognized territory since then. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994, but the OSCE-brokered peace talks have accomplished little, so far.
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