Improved DNA technology and a public campaign urging relatives of the disappeared to donate blood samples has helped identify an increased number of victims of Argentina’s so-called Dirty War, in which thousands of people were kidnapped and killed by dictator Jorge Rafael Videla’s government.

Forensic anthropologists have identified 120 Dirty War victims since 2007, about a third of the total identifications made in the last 27 years, enabling families to finally find closure and bring human rights abusers to justice.

Human rights groups estimate as many as 30,000 people were abducted and killed during the military dictatorship. Many were anonymously buried in local cemeteries while others were pushed from military aircraft into the sea.

Source: Reuters