Hanoi (VNA) – Forces participating in the 500-day-and-night campaign had recovered the remains of 1,488 fallen soldiers as of July 25, according to the national steering committee for the search, recovery and identification of fallen soldiers' remains (Steering Committee 515).
The total comprises 466 sets of remains recovered in Vietnam, 174 in Laos, and 850 in Cambodia.
The campaign has also led to the discovery of seven mass graves. Five were found in the northern province of Tuyen Quang, containing the remains of 23 fallen soldiers, while the search at Le Thi Rieng Park in Ho Chi Minh City uncovered the remains of 103 fallen soldiers and two others in a collective burial site.
A total of 32 search and recovery teams of 1,541 personnel remain deployed. Of these, 13 domestic teams with 456 members are operating in Vietnam, while 19 overseas teams with 1,085 personnel are working abroad, including eight teams in Laos with 403 members and 11 teams in Cambodia with 682 personnel.
Since the launch of the campaign, 13 memorial and burial ceremonies have been held for 735 recovered sets of remains.
In efforts to collect DNA samples from the remains, 264 sampling teams, involving around 3,500 personnel, are currently in operation. To date, samples have been collected from 79,768 martyrs’ graves, of which 55,626 met the required conditions for sampling, representing 69.73%.
Regarding DNA sampling from relatives of fallen soldiers, 93,464 samples have been collected, with 53,036 analysed and synchronised with the national database.
Authorities have also received, stored and preserved 15,729 DNA samples taken from the remains of fallen soldiers submitted by localities.
On mine and unexploded ordnance clearance, Steering Committee 515 reported that 8,462.16 hectares of the planned 22,725 hectares had been cleared, equivalent to 37.24% of the target.
In the Vi Xuyen core area in Tuyen Quang province, 3,566.7 hectares out of 4,460 hectares have been cleared, achieving 79.97% of the planned area./.
VNA
