Identified remains of five victims of the 1992-1993 armed conflict in Abkhazia, previously presumed lost, have been transferred to Tbilisi, the Reconciliation Ministry of Georgia said on August 13.
The Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi will be hosting the public memorial service for the transferred conflict victims for two days. Top Georgian officials arrived today at the cathedral to pay respects to the victims, including President Salome Zurabishvili, Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze, Reconciliation Minister Tea Akhvlediani, and Chief of Georgian Defense Forces Major General Giorgi Matiashvili.
The remains of two victims belong to military servants, and the remaining three are civilians. One of the fighters will be buried at the Digomi Brothers’ Cemetery with military honor tomorrow, while another fighter, Ukrainian, will be reburied in Lviv, western Ukraine.
The funerals for three other victims will take place at different locations as per the decisions of their families.
After years of uncertainty, 5 people who had gone missing during 1992-93 conflict in Abkhazia were returned today to their loved ones in Tbilisi. Lot of emotions for their families during the ceremony organised by @SMRCEGeorgia in Sameba. Read more https://t.co/1bVUrnqmob pic.twitter.com/HznzemmeJA
— Severine Chappaz (@ChappazSeverine) August 13, 2021
The transfer from Abkhazia was facilitated by the Reconciliation Ministry, charged with overseeing Russian-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia regions, in cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross under a bilateral Georgian-Abkhaz coordination mechanism.
According to Reconciliation Ministry data, the relevant mechanisms helped find 589 victims of the armed conflicts in the 1990s and the 2008 Russo-Georgian wars, of which 211 have been identified. Minister Akhvlediani said the search and identification efforts will continue as over 2,300 remain presumed lost.
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