45,000 missing persons in Colombia thought to be in mass graves

Image of a Prosecutor General magazine aimed at identifying victims found in mass graves

Colombia’s Prosecutor General’s Office said Monday it is investigating the disappearance of 45,154 people who are thought to be buried in mass graves.

The office told newspaper El Tiempo that 4,189 graves with 5,390 bodies has been found since May 2006, after the end of the demobilization of paramilitary group AUC that is held responsible for the majority of disappearances in Colombia.

Furthermore, out of 5,390 bodies, 2,483 have been identified by forensic evidence and 536 has possibly been identified.

The identification of 2,371 bodies is pending.

Out of the 2,483 identified bodies, 2,338 have been delivered to the families of the diseased, but 145 bodies has yet to be returned.

Former members of the AUC have informed the Office of Justice and Peace of a total of 1,025 graves.

The bodies of 38 children killed by the 9th and 47th front of the FARC has been found in a mass grave in the Colombian town of Narino, located in the state of Antioquia, El Tiempo reported Monday.

Sources

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