ICMP: 11,000 still missing in the Western Balkans

(Patria) - More than 70 percent of the 40,000 persons missing from the armed conflicts of the 1990s have been identified in the Western Balkans to date, while around 11,000 are still being sought, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) announced on Sunday on the occasion of the International Day of the Disappeared.

The remains of approximately 29,000 persons have been found and their identities established using the most advanced scientific methods and technologies, as well as thanks to the cooperation of judicial and investigative bodies, specialized institutions, forensic experts and families of the missing, ICMP stated.

In order to shed light on the fate of the remaining missing persons, ICMP, with the support of the British government and in cooperation with the heads of institutions responsible for searching for the missing in the countries formed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, organized a video campaign.

The goal of this campaign is to encourage the disclosure of locations of disappearances and deaths and to draw public attention to resolving this issue.

The largest number of missing persons in the Western Balkans is in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where 7,500 people are still being sought.

Elvir Camić, head of the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said that the process of searching for missing persons in that country has significantly slowed down, with the biggest challenge being the lack of credible information about the locations of graves.