Azernews.Az

Ulviyya Poladova

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More than 30 years after the First Karabakh War, 4,009 Azerbaijani citizens are still officially listed as missing, AzerNEWS reports.

This is stated in a post on X social network by Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan - Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration, Hikmet Hajiyev.

Hajiyev described the issue as one of the most enduring humanitarian consequences of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, emphasizing that thousands of families continue to await information about the fate of their missing relatives.

He noted that ongoing search, recovery, and identification operations in Azerbaijan’s formerly occupied territories have resulted in the exhumation of 889 sets of human remains. Through DNA analysis and forensic examinations, authorities have successfully identified 313 missing individuals, while the remains of 226 people have been returned to their families for burial.

According to Hajiyev, the discovery of 32 mass graves in the liberated territories underscores the scale of the humanitarian tragedy and reinforces the need for continued efforts to determine the fate of those still missing.

"Addressing the issue of missing persons is not only a humanitarian obligation. It is a matter of justice, human dignity, reconciliation and lasting peace. Every identified person brings a family closer to answers. Every recovered remain helps restore truth and preserve memory," he added.