Scientists aim to identify remains of Argentine soldiers on Falklands

Record ID: 877644

  • Title: Scientists aim to identify remains of Argentine soldiers on Falklands
  • Date: 1st June 2017
  • Summary: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (JUNE 1, 2017) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF RED CROSS NEWS CONFERENCE RED CROSS LOGO ON BANNER (SOUNDBITE) (English) LAURENT CORBAZ, INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS (ICRC) HEAD OF THE HUMANITARIAN PROJECT PLAN TO IDENTIFY ARGENTINE SOLDIERS BURIED IN THE FALKLAND ISLANDS' DARWIN CEMETERY, SAYING: "We can start with the second phase, the exhumation proper at Darwin cemetery on Monday 19th (June 2017) if everything goes well. I expect the second phase to last until the end of August. The main objective of this second phase is to take samples, bone samples from the human remains gathered on 123 tombs that still are unidentified in this cemetery and to then rebury the remains."
  • Embargoed: 15th June 2017 17:14
  • Keywords: Falkland Islands War cemetery International Committee of the Red Cross Laurent Corbaz
  • Location: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA AND DARWIN, FALKLAND ISLANDS
  • City: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA AND DARWIN, FALKLAND ISLANDS
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0026JG624J
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Forensic scientists will start trying to identify this month the remains of Argentine soldiers buried in anonymous graves on the Falkland islands after the 1982 conflict with Britain, the head of the mission said on Thursday (June 1).
    There are 123 such graves in Darwin cemetery in the South Atlantic, though one contains multiple bodies, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) representatives overseeing the mission said at a news conference.
    ICRC has been interviewing families of Argentine survivors since 2012 and around 100 have consented to DNA testing.
    Britain's two-month war to reclaim the Falklands left 255 British and about 650 Argentine soldiers dead, and is still a sore spot in Argentina.
    Argentina's President Mauricio Macri has adopted a softer rhetoric than his predecessor Cristina Fernandez but has not relinquished Argentina's claim to the islands it calls Malvinas.
    An agreement to identify the soldiers was signed by Argentina and Britain in December, with both agreeing to split the $1.5 million costs. The team will consist ICRC forensic scientists as well as two experts from Argentina and two from Britain.
    Exhumation and bone sampling is to begin on June 19 and will likely continue into August.
    British Army Colonel Geoffrey Cardozo, who was ordered by Margaret Thatcher to recover the dead from various points on the island in 1983 and set up the cemetery, will accompany part of the ICRC mission.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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