Around 1,000 Armenians are considered missing in action from the two main Artsakh wars in the 1990s and 2020, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The number includes both civilians and military personnel.
ICRC Armenia Communications and Prevention Manager Zara Amatuni, citing information that has been submitted by the families of those missing, said that around 700 people are missing from the first Artsakh War in the 1990s, and around 300 are missing from the second Artsakh War and the subsequent hostilities between 2020 and 2023, Armenpress reported.
Amatuni made the comments during a photo exhibition in Vanadzor on the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.
ICRC representatives are periodically visiting the Armenian detainees held in Azerbaijan. However, the ICRC visits those who are officially acknowledged by Azerbaijan as detainees.
Azerbaijan has officially acknowledged that it is holding 23 Armenian captives. However, a senior Armenian law enforcement official said earlier this year that the number of Armenian captives in Baku is 55. The captives include former Artsakh presidents Arkady Ghukasian, Bako Sahakian and Arayik Harutyunyan, as well as former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, former Artsakh Foreign Minister David Babayan, Artsakh Parliament Speaker Davit Ishkhanyan and other officials.
In January, Argishti Kyaramyan, the Head of the Investigative Committee of Armenia, told First Channel News that Azerbaijan has confirmed holding 23 Armenians captives, but they have evidence on the forced disappearance of another 32 persons after the 2020 war.
“At this moment 23 compatriots confirmed by Azerbaijan are being held there, 17 of whom are persons captured as a result of the 2023 aggression. We have evidence regarding the forced disappearance of 32 persons after the 44-day war, which we have presented to supranational organizations,” Kyaramyan said in January.
Furthermore, even the European Court of Human Rights indicated interim measures regarding 22 of the prisoners, however Azerbaijan is denying the fact that these persons have been taken captive, the Armenian official said earlier this year.
Armenia’s Foreign Ministry marked the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances in a social media post.
“On International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, we honor those unjustly taken and denied their rights. Armenia knows the deep pain of enforced disappearances and remains committed to seeking justice for all victims and their families,” the minstry said in a post on X.
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