Abkhazia commemorates those who went missing during hostilities

Out of more than 2200 people who went missing in the Georgian-Abkhaz war, the remains of 200 were found, of which 44 remains were handed over to families in Abkhazia, Boris Kazanba, a deputy head of the mission of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the unrecognized republic of Abkhazia, has informed.

August 30 is the International Day of the Missing People. In Abkhazia, this day has been officially marked since 2010, the "Abkhazia-Inform" reports.

On August 30, the movement "Mothers of Abkhazia for Peace and Justice" and the ICRC opened an exhibition dedicated to the Day of the Missing People.

Boris Kazanba, a deputy head of the ICRC's mission in Abkhazia, has explained that over 2200 people are regarded missing in the Georgian-Abkhaz war. "Of these, the remains of more than 200 people were identified. The remains of 44 of them were handed over to families in Abkhazia; the work to search for the remains continues," the "Apsnypress" has quoted Mr Kazanba as saying.

The identification work is being carried out in cooperation with Georgia, Guli Kichba, the head of the movement "Mothers of Abkhazia for Peace and Justice", which unites relatives of those missing, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "Georgian soldiers are also lying here. May they be buried in their homeland," Ms Kichba has stated.

While earlier Abkhazia had to completely rely on foreign assistance, now the republic possesses both a laboratory and specialists who have undergone the necessary training, she has noted. The main difficulties with the search are that the burial maps are in Georgian hands; and they share them slowly and reluctantly, Guli Kichba has summed up.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 30, 2022 at 11:17 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.