Armenia: 275 Karabakh soldiers, civilians remain missing

PanARMENIAN.Net - 275 servicemen and civilians remain missing as of June 16, Armenia's Investigative Committee reveals, more than six months after the 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).

The Committee issued a statement about the number of the missing after third President Serzh Sargsyan published what he described to be a "secret document", according to which 1064 people were allegedly still missing after the hostilities.

"Within criminal proceedings, a person ceases to be considered missing when, as a result of investigative and other judicial actions, factual information is obtained about his / her death, or the whereabouts of the person is revealed," the Investigative Committee said.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs too weighed in on the matter, revealing that the "secret document" published by Sargsyan has long been available on the website of the Insurance Foundation for Servicemen. The Ministry noted that the paper was first published in April and that 700 victims have been identified since.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev on November 9 signed a statement to end the war in Karabakh after almost 45 days. Under the deal, the Armenian side has returned all the seven regions surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, having lost a part of Karabakh itself in hostilities.