Remains of 13 missing people in 1992-93 identified
By Anastasia Sokhadze
Friday, August 14
The information about this was spread by the committee. According to them, the identities were made possible within the framework of the coordination mechanism working on the issues of missing persons as a result of the 1992-1993 conflict in Abkhazia, which has been functioning under the auspices of the CJSC since 2010 and involves Abkhazian and Georgian participants.
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the remains of these 13 people were found during excavations conducted in 2017 and 2018 in Sokhumi, Gulrifshi, Ochamchire and Mtskheta districts under the leadership of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
"The bodies of the 13 people were found during excavations in 2017 and 2018 in Sokhumi, Gulrifshi, Ochamchire, and Mtskheta districts. In compliance with international standards within the world experience, identification was carried out by the JCC through a multidisciplinary scientific process. The Office of the State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality informed the families about the identification of their loved ones. The transfer of the remains to the families will take place on August 14th at the Levan Samkharauli National Forensics Bureau, where families will have the opportunity to meet with the Office of the State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality. During this process, we will also continue to provide psychological support to families so that they can cope with the difficult emotional state caused by identifying deceased loved ones,” read the statement.
Jerome Tue, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Program Coordinator for Missing Persons, said that family members of missing people have the right to be informed about their loved ones and that work in this area is extremely important.
According to the committee, the farewell ceremony will take place on August 15th at Trinity Cathedral. Despite the obstacles posed by the Covid-19 crisis, the International Committee of the Red Cross has made every effort to continue the identification process. Local and foreign specialists in the fields of genetics, archeology, and anthropology continued to analyze and reconcile existing data to achieve concrete results.
A few days ago, 13 families received the answer about their lost loved ones.
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, 2,352 people, both military and civilian, are missing in connection with the conflicts of the 1990s and August 2008.
According to the committee, the remains of a total of 563 people have been found since 2013, of which 191 have been identified and handed over to families, and work continues to determine the whereabouts of people missing as a result of the conflict.
The State Minister attended a meeting of a coordination mechanism set up by Georgian and Abkhazian participants in Yerevan to determine the whereabouts of 2,258 people missing during and after the armed conflict in Abkhazia in 2018. The meeting was chaired by the International Committee of the Red Cross following its status as a neutral mediator.
The Coordination Mechanism was established in 2010 under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross; The goal is to find people who went missing as a result of the 1992-93 conflict.
