Artsakh Human Rights Defender releases report on terrorist act by  group of Azerbaijani servicemen

ArmInfo. Artsakh Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan has released a report on the terrorist act  by a group of Azerbaijani servicemen in Nagorno-Karabakh, on March 5, 2023.  

The report reads, in particular: 

"In the period after the Trilateral Statement on Ceasefire, signed by  the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Russian Federation on  November 9, 2020, the Azerbaijani side has repeatedly grossly  violated the provisions of the Statement, resorting to military  escalation, disrupting the normal life and activity of the civilian  population of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), initiating physical and  psychological attacks and violence against the population, disrupting  the vital infrastructures and agricultural works.

"In the period following the establishment of the ceasefire, more  than 150 cases of criminal acts against the people of Artsakh  (Nagorno-Karabakh) by the Azerbaijani armed forces have been  recorded, as a result of which 21 people were killed (6 civilians, 15  militaries), 166 people were subjected to attempted murder (79  civilians, 87 militaries), 71 people (20 civilians) were injured and  subjected to physical violence.  Azerbaijanis stole vehicles,  residential buildings were subjected to direct fire from different  firearms, agricultural equipment, and vehicles were damaged or  destroyed, small and large cattle were stolen from the civilian  population, and gardens were set on fire.    

"Moreover, to suppress, psychologically, and physically intimidate  the people of Artsakh (Nagorno- Karabakh), since December 12, 2022,  under the fake pretext of protecting the environment, Azerbaijani  government agents have blocked Goris-Stepanakert highway - the only  road connecting Artsakh to Armenia and the external world, which  passes through the Lachin corridor defined by the Trilateral  Statement. The blockade has led to gross violations of basic human  rights: an adequate standard of living, freedom of movement, right to  healthcare, education, and many other rights.

"Under the conditions of an 86-day-long blockade, the Azerbaijani  side began to regularly resort to armed attacks from the end of  February and the beginning of March.

"On February 28, 2023, at about 16:55, shots from rifles of various  calibers were fired from Azerbaijani combat positions at 53-year-old  A.Avanesyan from the village of Myurishen, Martuni region, who was  engaged in agricultural work with a Jonder tractor in the area called  "Asfalten tak" of the administrative district of the village of  Berdashen. As a result, agricultural work was stopped. 

"On March 1, 2023, in the area called "Davala" of the village of  Berdashen, the Azerbaijani side opened fire from small arms at  59-year-old S. Vardanyan from the Berdashen community who was  performing agricultural work on a Belarus tractor. Agricultural work  was forced to stop.

"On March 5, 2023, the Azerbaijani side resorted to a new terrorist  act, in particular, an ambush group of the Azerbaijani armed forces  crossed the line of contact defined by the Trilateral Statement of  the Armed Forces of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and Azerbaijan and  attacked the car of the Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of  the Republic of Artsakh, driving from Stepanakert along a road about  1km from the contact line.

"The Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Artsakh has constantly  and consistently informed the representatives of international  organizations and the human rights community about the regularly  committed crimes of the Azerbaijani side, demanding that necessary  measures should be taken to purposefully assess the situation and  introduce real mechanisms to protect the people of Artsakh (Nagorno-  Karabakh). However, despite all the alarms, the situation remains  tense, threatening the life, health, physical and psychological  integrity, and fundamental rights of 120.000 people of Artsakh.

"The ongoing blockade of Azerbaijan, as well as the regular and  consistent armed attacks, aim at subjecting Artsakh to ethnic  cleansing through physical and psychological intimidation, creating  unbearable conditions and destroying the indigenous Armenian  population of Artsakh.

"This report presents the facts and information collected by the  staff of the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Artsakh from  competent authorities and open sources regarding the terrorist  activities carried out by the Azerbaijani armed forces ambush group  on March 5, 2023. The details of the incident were clarified through  an interview with the only survivor of the car, the injured Davit  Ashot Hovsepyan, as well as through the analysis of available  videos."

The report can be downloaded here:  https://artsakhombuds.am/ru/document/1000