BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 30. Azerbaijan's State Commission has registered 4,010 people as missing as a result of what it describes as Armenia's military aggression against the country, according to figures released on June 30, 2026, Trend's correspondent reports from the event.
The updated statistics were announced by Deputy Chief of the State Security Service Lt. Gen. Sharafat Hasanov during the international conference, "Modern approaches to resolving the issue of missing persons and strengthening cooperation," held in cooperation with the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).
Hasanov said 4,004 people disappeared during the First Karabakh War, while six went missing during the 44-day Second Karabakh War in 2020.
Of the 4,010 missing persons, 3,228 are military personnel and 782 are civilians. Among the civilians are 71 minors, 288 women, and 319 elderly people.
Hasanov said Azerbaijan has been collecting biological samples from the close relatives of missing persons since 2014, under a 2008 framework agreement between the State Commission and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on the collection and centralized management of ante-mortem data.
Since 2023, the collection of biological samples has been carried out by the Genetics Department of the State Security Service's Main Military Medical Directorate, established by presidential order.
As of June 30, 2026, authorities had collected and cataloged biological samples from 11,542 donors related to missing Azerbaijani citizens. DNA profiles extracted from those samples are being archived by the Genetic Research Center of the State Security Service's Main Military Medical Directorate.
Hasanov said Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territories remained under occupation for nearly 30 years, preventing authorities from determining the fate of many missing citizens.
Following the 2020 war and the 2023 anti-terrorism measures, he said locating the graves of missing persons, carrying out excavations and exhumations, and identifying human remains became key priorities assigned by President Ilham Aliyev to the State Commission.
Since February 2021, authorities have conducted extensive searches, excavations, exhumations, and identification efforts in the territories regained by Azerbaijan.
According to the latest figures, the remains of 893 missing persons have been discovered.
Hasanov said authorities have also uncovered 32 mass graves in the liberated territories since excavation work began. The remains of 253 individuals were exhumed from those sites with the participation of investigative authorities.
As of June 30, 2026, forensic molecular genetic examinations had identified the remains of 327 people who went missing during the First Karabakh War.
Authorities have publicly confirmed the identities of 226 of those individuals and returned their remains to their families for burial in accordance with national laws and religious traditions. Those buried include 181 military personnel and 45 civilians. Among the identified civilians are 14 women and two minors.
Hasanov also said the remains of several additional identified missing persons will be returned to their families in the coming days.
He emphasized the role of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) in supporting search and identification efforts and expressed hope that continued cooperation with the organization would help clarify the fate of Azerbaijan's remaining missing citizens.
