Spain Begins Exhumation of Civil War after 50 Years

Employees and volunteers work on the first phase of exhuming victims of repression during the Spanish Civil War and the Franco regime in the mass grave of the cemetery, authorities expected to contain around 150 bodies, in Ejea de los Caballeros, in Zaragoza Province, Spain.

The exhumations come right before Spain marks the 50th anniversary of Franco’s death on November 20, 1975.

His regime honoured its own dead in the Spanish civil war and left its opponents buried in unmarked graves across the country.

The few surviving children of victims race against time to recover and identify the remains of their parents through DNA testing.

Today, Spain faces the enduring legacy of that repression. According to official data, more than 3,300 mass graves have been documented nationwide, with about 140,000 people still missing.

Photo: AFP