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Salvadoran reunited with daughter stolen in war

13 Dec 2006 00:14:32 GMT
Source: Reuters

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, Dec 12 (Reuters) - A Salvadoran woman was reunited on Tuesday with her daughter who was stolen by elite troops 24 years ago and raised by a soldier's family.

With tears in her eyes, Maura Contreras, 52, met daughter Gregoria who was abducted by members of the Atlacatl anti-insurgency unit in 1982 aged 4.

Contreras, who has eight children, had three of them stolen. The other two, a boy almost 2 years old and a girl aged four months were taken along with Gregoria in 1982, Contreras told reporters.

Gregoria, who now lives abroad, was raised as the daughter of a soldier from the U.S.-trained battalion but her mother traced her with the help of a group that specializes in finding children abducted during the 1980-92 civil war.

Contreras said she began to look for her children in 1994 and was tipped off about Gregoria this year in an anonymous letter from a former soldier.

The Atlacatl battalion, which took the children, is famous for its participation in the 1981 El Mozote massacre, in which hundreds of civilians are believed to have been killed.

Contreras urged the government to order the opening of the national archives so other missing children could be found.

More than 700 children were seized during the war, often taken by soldiers who had no children of their own, and 320 have since been united with their biological parents.

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Last updated:Wed Dec 13 00:16:12 2006