Scientists begin the grim job of finding out who were the victims of Argentina’s …

Bones belong to victims of the military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983
Dirty War was waged by Argentina's military against left-wing opponents
Scientists say they have found evidence of torture and bullets in skulls
The military's aim was to wipe out left-wing terrorism
Around 30,000 people disappeared during the military regime

By
Tara Brady

PUBLISHED:

17:07 GMT, 9 December 2013

|

UPDATED:

17:12 GMT, 9 December 2013

Forensic specialists have begun piecing together the remains of hundreds of victims from Argentina's Dirty War.

For nearly 30 years, the group of scientists from the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team have been examining skeletons from all over the world including Che Guevara's who was executed in Bolivia more than 40 years ago.

But now they have begun identifying the bones belonging to victims who died during the Argentine military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983 which became known as the Dirty War.

Forensics have begun the painstaking task of identifying the remains which they have found in a grave

Around 30,000 Argentinians 'disappeared' during the period and were presumed murdered by the regime.

The bones have been found in a mass grave at a secret detention centre known as Arsenal Miguel de Azcuenaga, in the northern province of Tucuman, Argentina.

Luis Fondebrider, an anthropologist from the University of Buenos Aires, said one identification
can take years.

The bones are being kept in boxes which have the letters 'NN' which stands for No Name.

Each piece of bone has been numbered and labelled in red ink.

A forensic scientist looks at bones found in a common grave believed to have been created during the military dictatorship in Argentina

The Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF) are examining bones which have been found in Tucuman

Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF) members working in a common grave in Cordoba province

Scientists say they have found evidence of torture and bullets in skulls.

The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo is a group which was set up to support families who lost loved ones.

Nora Cortinas, president of the group, told Tico Times: 'It gives us great pain – first comes the disappearance.

'Then there is the second blow, when the scientist confirm the identity of a deceased loved one.'

More than 400 members of the regime have been convicted for their part in the regime.

Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team members working in a common grave found at the cemetery of Avellaneda in 1988

The Dirty War was a campaign waged by Argentina's military rulers against left-wing opponents.

It began when a military junta led by General Jorge Videla seized power on 24 March 1976, in response to a period of political instability and growing violence after the death of President Juan Peron.

The military's aim was to wipe out left-wing terrorism but the terror carried out by the state exceeded anything previously seen in Argentina.

Former Argentine dictator Jorge Rafael Videla died in May this year

Around 30,000 people disappeared before Argentina returned to civilian rule with the election of President Raul Alfonsin in October 1983.

This month marks 30 years since the end of the dictatorship.

Former Argentine military leader Jorge Rafael Videla died aged 87 in May while serving a life sentence for crimes against humanity.

The general was jailed in 2010 for the deaths of 31 dissidents during the 1976-83 military dictatorship.

General Videla had been sentenced to life in prison for torture, murder and other crimes in 1985, but was pardoned in 1990 under an amnesty given by the president at the time, Carlos Menem.

In April 2010, the Supreme Court upheld a 2007 federal court move to overturn his pardon.

Most of the left-wing activists were taken from their cells in the central city of Cordoba and shot dead shortly after the military took power.

Gen Videla was one of 30 members of the security forces charged with the murders.

Last year, he was also convicted of overseeing the theft of babies from political prisoners.

At least 400 babies are thought to have been taken from their parents while they were held in detention centres.

More than 100 children given for adoption to military or police couples have since been reunited with their biological families.