The bodies of Armenian and Azerbaijani soldiers, killed in renewed fighting in the Nagorno-Karbakakh conflict a week ago, have been retrieved and transferred in an operation facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Dozens have been killed in the worst outbreak of violence since a 1994 ceasefire, with both sides blaming the other for starting hostilities on April 2. The warring parties agreed a ceasefire last Tuesday, which both are claiming the other has breached.
\"Our priority is to help the families of those missing in action who still do not know the fate of their loved ones,\" said Patrick Vial, the ICRC\\\'s regional director for Europe and Central Asia. \"It was also important for the sides to have the bodies returned and so provide answers for the families.\"
A \"period of silence\" took place on Friday afternoon, for both sides to identify their dead. Bodies were retrieved over the weekend, with the actual handover taking place on Sunday.
The operation took place following an agreement between the two sides, the personal representative of the OSCE chairman-in-office, and the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, which is trying to mediate a solution to the conflict.
In December, the ICRC handed to Armenia and Azerbaijan a list of 4,496 names of people who went missing during the full-blown conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, which formally ended two decades ago.
SOURCE: commonspace.eu, ICRC and agencies
PHOTO: ICRC headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland
