Dien Bien province collects 81 DNA samples to identify war martyrs
Authorities in the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien collected 81 DNA samples from relatives of unidentified martyrs on October 24-25, bringing the total to 473 across two rounds this year, the provincial Department of Public Security said.
The department led the effort with the Ministry of Public Security’s Police Department for Administrative Management of Social Order and other agencies, sampling in Dien Bien Phu ward and the communes of Na Sang, Muong Ang and Tuan Giao. Samples were taken from relatives linked to martyrs through the maternal line, in line with regulations, to match against remains and establish their identities.
Dien Bien has 7,398 graves of martyrs and youth volunteers across 11 cemeteries, 6,894 of which contain remains. In the first phase of the 500-day campaign, authorities exhumed and sampled 4,607 graves in seven cemeteries, meeting 100% of the plan, and handed 4,343 eligible samples to the Military Forensic Institute for testing.
Alongside grave sampling, the department reviewed 815 martyr cases, built data on 766 relatives and collected 473 DNA samples from relatives living in the province. Authorities continue to review, verify and standardise records to keep the information complete and accurate for DNA matching.
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