Azerbaijan identifies 17 more missing from First Karabakh War amid ongoing mass grave investigations

Seventeen more individuals previously listed as missing and now identified as martyrs will be laid to rest, AzerNEWS reports, citing the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons.

According to the Commission, the funeral ceremonies will take place on February 19–20.

More than 4,000 people went missing during the First Karabakh War, the majority of them military personnel. It is known that some of the missing were held in captivity for a period of time. During their detention, they corresponded with their families through the International Committee of the Red Cross. However, the exchange of letters later ceased, and no further information was provided about their fate.

The First Karabakh War erupted in the late 1980s as tensions escalated between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Qarabag (former Nagorno-Karabakh), then an autonomous oblast within Soviet Azerbaijan. As the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the conflict transformed into a full-scale war between newly independent Armenia and Azerbaijan. By 1994, Armenian forces had taken control of Qarabag and seven surrounding districts, leading to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis. A Russian-brokered ceasefire was signed in May 1994, but no comprehensive peace agreement followed, leaving the issue of prisoners of war and missing persons unresolved for decades.

To this day, the Armenian side has avoided cooperation regarding individuals who went missing during the First Karabakh War.

Following the 44-day war in 2020, several mass graves were discovered in territories liberated by Azerbaijan. After the restoration of control over formerly occupied areas, the remains of a number of missing persons were recovered and returned to their families.

The Azerbaijani authorities state that the search process remains ongoing, and efforts continue to determine the fate of those who disappeared during the First Karabakh War.