The Azerbaijani armed forces that invaded Gegharkunik Province of Armenia have built large shelters, accumulated a large amount of firewood, and concreted the roads leading to their positions, Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan said in a statement.
Tatoyan said the Azerbaijani troops have become more and more active in the recent period.
“Moreover, they continue to build new roads, the number of troops and armaments in their positions has increased. They are conducting re-enforcements of positions and active engineering works all the time,” Tatoyan said.
Ombudsman Tatoyan underscored that the Azeri troops are unlawfully located on lands owned by Armenian citizens. This information has been confirmed by the ombudsman’s fact-finding mission with validated data from several sources.
“These are the Azeri positions from where the Azeri troops are committing terrorisms against the civilian population of Armenia, regularly shooting at the civilian homes of the villages of Verin Shorzha, Sotk and Kut, among others, in the Gegharkunik province, committing mass arson of pastures owned by farmers. The servicemen of these positions have committed many thefts of livestock,” Tatoyan said.
Therefore, the process of establishing a demilitarized security zone around the RA borders and immediately removing the Azerbaijani armed forces from the RA villages and roads between the communities should start immediately.
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This proposal of the RA Human Rights Defender is contained in a specific international document: Resolution No. 2391 (2021) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on September 27, 2021. The Human Rights Defender will also send relevant reports to international organizations and RA state bodies, civil society organizations.
”The Azerbaijani military’s criminal actions, gross violations of human rights are fueled by a single source: the Azerbaijani state-sanctioned anti-Armenian racism, genocidal policy and policy of hostility and ethnic cleansing,” he concluded.
