50 Remains of Casualties from the 44-Day War Still Not Identified

During today’s meeting of the Armenian government, it was decided to allocate 31,125,000 AMD from the government reserve fund to the Ministry of Health to cover the costs of DNA identification examinations for the remains of soldiers who perished in the 44-day war.

According to the draft decision, from October 2020 to 2022, numerous unidentifiable remains, including altered, fragmented, skeletonized, and burned bodies and remains, have been identified at the National Institute of Forensic Medical Expertise's Molecular Genetics Examination Division. As a result, the identities of soldiers’ remains previously considered unknown have been established.

An additional 100 bone complex samples have been sent to the Netherlands to the ICMP organization for DNA identification. This financing has been provided by USAID (United States Agency for International Development).

“However, there are still complex, damaged, and externally altered bone tissues from which it has not been possible to extract DNA profiles suitable for identification. This necessitates sending another 50 bone tissue samples to the Netherlands,” the draft decision states. Obtaining full genetic profiles from damaged bone tissues requires an additional 75,000 USD (31,125,000 AMD).