Azerbaijan targeting Armenian villages: one killed and one wounded

Azerbaijan keeps targeting Armenian villages. On August 1, in Ijevan (Tavush region, Armenia), a contracted recruit was wounded, Artsrun Hovhannisyan, Spokesperson of the Armenian Defense Ministry told EADaily.

By preliminary data, the officer was wounded by the Azerbaijani forces and was hospitalized.

During the last two days, the situation has been tense in Tavush region located on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan. On July 28, in a local village Barekamavan, a contracted recruit Arkady Hambaryan (born in 1984) was killed by the enemy.

Peaceful life at gunpoint

Azerbaijan regularly shells at near-border villages in Armenia’s Tavush region. In harvesting period, the villages of Aygehovit, Baghanis, Barekamavan, are at gunpoint more than ever. On July 21, a week before the contracted recruit was killed, Azerbaijani troops shelled at Barekamavan in the period from 11:00pm up to 1:00am local time, according to Jonik Mikaelyan, the community head. Such provocations often result in casualties. On May 31 and June 7, Azerbaijani troops targeted Baghanis damaging the roof of a local house and the water well of another one.

In March, Azerbaijan shelled at Aygehovit near-border community and fire broke out on an area of 20.72ha damaging more than forty vineyards. The damage caused to the villagers totaled more than 10 million drams (about $25,000). Tavush regional investigation department of the RA Investigation Committee initiated a criminal case based on article “intentional destruction or damage of property on an especially large scale.”

“Barbarian behavior”

“Azerbaijan’s policy of permanent firing at Armenian near-border villages, especially in harvesting season, is inadmissible and mean. Such behavior is typical for Barbarian tribes,” said Vice Speaker of Armenian Parliament Eduard Sharmazanov commenting on permanent shelling at Voskevan village that has been holding the villagers from collecting harvest for several days already.

“Targeting unarmed villager collecting harvest is mean,” Sharmazanov said.

“No civilized nation would behave so in the 21st century. I think the world community must respond toughly to such criminal policy of Baku and give a proper assessment to the actions against peaceful population of Armenia,” Sharmazanov told EADaily.

Meantime, the world community responds to almost every case of ceasefire violation in the Karabakh conflict zone and makes statements calling for observation of the ceasefire. Nothing on the kind happens when Azerbaijan targets Armenia’s territory.

The only international organization to assess Azerbaijan’s actions against peaceful population of Armenia’s near-border communities was the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). On December 29, 2016, CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha expressed concern over the sabotage attempt on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan. In his statement, Bordyuzha called provocative the actions on the territory of the CSTO member-country, Armenia, especially after heavy armed clashes in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in April 2016.

Lia Khojoyan