American-based biotechnology company Life Technologies has said that it will provide a complete laboratory system to help identify bodies from mass graves, and other missing persons.
Libya Herald reports that the new Tripoli lab will help identify the remains of an estimated 20,000 people who were found in mass graves after the revolution, and will also try to shed light on cases of missing persons dating back to the old regime.
Peter Silvester, Life Technologies' president of the EMEA division, said:
"It is our hope that many families will find the answers to what happened to their loved ones ...
"By providing the laboratory setup and forensic expertise, we will help train Libyan scientists in the very latest instruments, technology and protocols, to enable them in their work and help promote reconciliation in Libya."
Some 50,000 DNA samples will be processed annually at the new facility, which is expected to be operational by the end of the year.
Before the laboratory opens, a number of Libyan scientists will be trained in the US by a well-known forensic scientist, Dr Arthur Eisenberg.
Spanish oil company Repsol, donated $2.5 million towards the cost of the project.
(Source: Libya Herald)
