Mission Underway In The Falklands To Give Argentine Soldiers Marked Graves

35 years after the end of the conflict between Argentina and the United Kingdom, a forensics mission has just started on the islands.

An International Committee of the Red Cross (IDRC) forensic team is expected to exhume between one and three unidentified Argentine bodies a day from unmarked graves in the Darwin Cemetery.

The bodies will be immediately transferred to a field laboratory close to the cemetery where scientists will analyse the remains, including clothes, bones and teeth. 

Under international humanitarian law, families have the right to know the fate of their loved ones.

This forensics mission will make that possible for some of the families, whilst there may be the opportunity to put a name on their grave.

Winter time was considered the most suitable and quietest time for the exhumations, despite the cemetery being subjected to strong winds and snow storms this time of year.

Darwin cemetery hosts 237 tombs, some bear the inscription:

"Soldado argentino solo conocido por Dios"

which means "Argentine soldier known only to God."

In 1983, a British army officer organised a proper burial for hundreds of Argentine soldiers who were buried in the haste of the war.

It was decided that exhumations would begin following discussions between the UK and Argentina last year.

Head of the ICRC forensics team, Morris Tidball-Binz said:

"In the hearts and minds of families affected by the loss of a loved one, time often does not go by. It is therefore not surprising that even decades after the death of these soldiers, families have come forward to request their identification."

DNA samples will be taken to laboratories in Argentina, where they will be compared to samples provided by families of the soldiers.

For quality control purposes, some of the samples will also be analysed in England and Spain. 

It is hoped that families of the soldiers may finally get closure, as results are expected at the end of the year. 

The Falklands Conflict was a ten week war over two British overseas territories between the United Kingdom and Argentina.

It started after Argentina invaded the islands, which was a remote UK colony in the South Atlantic.

The UK had ruled the islands for 150 years. Argentina's military junta hoped to restore its support at a time of economic crisis, in an attempt reclaim the sovereignty the UK had claimed over them.

The conflict began on 2 April 1982 and lasted for 74 days after the Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982.

The conflict cost 655 Argentine and 255 British serviceman their lives, whilst three civilians were also killed.