Around 1,000 Armenians Listed as Missing in Nagorno-Karabakh Wars – ICRC

YEREVAN — Around 1,000 Armenians are considered missing from the Nagorno-Karabakh wars, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). This number includes both civilians and military personnel.

ICRC Armenia Communications and Prevention Manager Zara Amatuni, citing information submitted by the families of those missing, stated that approximately 700 people are missing from the First Nagorno-Karabakh War in the 1990s, while around 300 are missing from the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War and the subsequent hostilities between 2020 and 2023.

Amatuni made these comments during a photo exhibition in Vanadzor dedicated to the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.

ICRC representatives periodically visit Armenian detainees held in Azerbaijan. However, these visits are limited to those officially acknowledged by Azerbaijan as detainees. Azerbaijan has officially acknowledged holding 23 Armenian captives. However, a senior Armenian law enforcement official stated earlier this year that the number of Armenian captives in Baku is 55. The captives include former presidents of Nagorno-Karabakh Arkady Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, and Arayik Harutyunyan, as well as former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan and other officials.