In Dien Bien, teams on July 23 began excavating and collecting biological samples from 2,042 unidentified graves at Doc Lap Martyrs' Cemetery, one of the province's largest burial sites for war martyrs.
Since the campaign was launched on June 6, more than 1,940 graves at seven cemeteries have been excavated, with 1,822 DNA samples submitted for forensic analysis. The province aims to collect samples from a total of 4,594 graves.
Colonel Duong Quoc Long, Deputy Political Commissar of the Dien Bien Provincial Military Command, described the campaign as a tribute to those who sacrificed their lives for the nation's independence and urged participating forces to complete the work safely, accurately and on schedule despite challenging conditions.
Meanwhile, Dak Lak Provincial Police launched a programme on July 23 to collect DNA samples from relatives of unidentified martyrs to support future matching efforts.
Provincial authorities have identified 4,324 martyrs whose identities remain unknown, of whom 2,706 still have eligible relatives for DNA collection, involving 3,865 family members.
According to the Ministry of Public Security, around 500,000 Vietnamese martyrs nationwide have yet to be identified, including approximately 300,000 whose remains have been buried without complete information.
Officials said DNA technology, combined with the National Population Database, is expected to accelerate the identification process and help reunite families with the remains of their loved ones.
