Ombudspersons of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh demand withdrawal of Azerbaijani militaries away from villages

For the third day, residents of the Khramort village in the Askeran District of Nagorno-Karabakh cannot perform their agrarian works due to threats from Azerbaijani militaries, the community administration has stated. Azerbaijan's military posts or bases should not be located near Armenian dwelling settlements, the Ombudspersons of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh have stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that after the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, residents of border villages have repeatedly reported about shelling conducted from the Azerbaijani side. Thus, on February 11, it became known that Azerbaijani militaries shelled residential buildings in the communities of Tagavard and Karmir Shuka (Krasny Bazar), where windows, roofs and walls were damaged. The village of Krasny Bazar is shelled daily from the Azerbaijani side, despite the presence of peacemakers; and local residents are afraid of taking their children to the kindergarten, villagers told the "Caucasian Knot" on February 8.

Zorik Abramyan, the head of the Khramort village community, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that since February 15, villagers cannot work in their fields and gardens. "Azerbaijani militaries are shelling the village daily. The civilians' safety is in danger, but no one is doing anything," the community head has stated.

On February 14-16, Gegam Stepanyan and Arman Tatoyan, the Ombudspersons of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia respectively, visited some communities of Nagorno-Karabakh in order to collect facts about the observance of human rights, the press service of the office of the Nagorno-Karabakh Ombudsperson has reported. Members of all the communities visited by them told that almost every day Azerbaijani militaries shell the villagers.

"Residents of all the communities reported that when they tried to approach their agricultural lands, even by a few hundred meters, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces opened targeted fire. These actions cause serious social problems in villagers. It's impossible for them to earn money," the Ombudspersons have claimed in their joint statement.

Azerbaijani authorities must stop such hostile acts; Azerbaijani military bases should not be located near Armenian settlements, Messrs Tatoyan and Stepanyan said in their statement.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 17, 2022 at 10:16 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.