Armenia: Some Karabakh victims can't be identified even through DNA

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan has said that the country won't be able to identify some of the remains of the victims of the Nagorno-Karabakh war as decomposition has erased all identifiable features, Factor TV reports.

Avanesyan said some of the bodies are severely damaged, which means they can't be identified even through DNA analysis.

"We are in close contact with international experts and top institutions. Right now, though, we are working on all the other complicated cases to see what we can find out," Avanesyan told a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, March 11.

The Health Minister did not say, however, what will happen to the unidentified remains, but did say that around 210 samples (not bodies - Ed.) are being processed at the moment.

Avanesyan also revealed that more than 2200 remains have been identified, while 180 parents are waiting for the results of DNA tests.

The Armenian side has not published the final number of victims and missing persons following the end of military hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh in November 2020. Furthermore, Azerbaijan is still holding and refusing to return many Armenian prisoners of war, the exact number of whom is not known either.