AGHDARA, Azerbaijan, October 3. Participants of the international conference "Addressing the Issue of Missing Persons: Upholding Families’ Right to Know the Truth," along with the accredited diplomatic corps in Azerbaijan, conducted an inspection of a recently discovered mass grave in the village of Aghdara district's Syrkhavend village, Trend reports.
The mass grave contains the remains of approximately fifteen individuals who perished in the First Karabakh War.
Excavation work has been ongoing for a month, with search efforts conducted at 6 sites where human remains were found, and it is believed that additional remains may be present in the area.
A member of the working group of the State Commission of Azerbaijan on Prisoners of War, Hostages, and Missing Persons Zaur Ismayilov told the media that fierce battles took place in Azerbaijan’s Aghdara district during the First Karabakh War.
"Many Azerbaijani servicemen lost their lives in these battles. The bodies of most of the deceased soldiers could not be retrieved from the battlefield. They are registered with the State Commission as missing persons," he said.
Ismayilov mentioned that eyewitness accounts suggest a military truck was shot down during the fighting, containing five servicemen and a nurse.
"The remains found here are believed to belong to these individuals. Debris from a military vehicle was also discovered. In total, four mass graves and two separate burials have been identified in this area," he added.
To note, Baku is hosting an international conference on “Addressing the Issue of Missing Persons: Upholding Families’ Right to Know the Truth,” organized by the State Commission of Azerbaijan and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
