1 Month and 1 Week Later, No End in Sight

03 November 2020

One month and one week have passed since the war unleashed by Turkish-Azerbaijani terrorist forces against Artsakh started on September 27. The Turkish military is a full-fledged involved party in the war, continuing to supply weapons to Azerbaijan, moving thousands of terrorists from Syria, Libya, Pakistan and Turkish special forces to Artsakh. There is comprehensive evidence that thousands of mercenaries are involved. The Armenian side captured two terrorists.

About 90,000 residents of Artsakh have fled their homes due to deliberate and indiscriminate attacks and ongoing threats from Azerbaijan. That number constitutes about 60% of the population of Artsakh. 24 thousand children from Artsakh are deprived of the right to education. Azerbaijan has destroyed more than 70 educational institutions, including more than 60 schools and dozens of kindergartens, in what constitutes serious war crimes.

The Armenian side currently has 1172 victims. To date, 45 civilians have been killed and more than 140 seriously injured. For weeks, Azerbaijan deliberately fired shells of various caliber missiles at the capital Stepanakert, Shushi, Askeran, Martuni, Martakert, Hadrut and other rural communities. Continuing their record of committing war crimes, Azerbaijan twice bombed the Holy Savior Church in Shushi, the Gohar Agha Persian Mosque, the Stepanakert maternity hospital, and various cultural institutions.

In addition, the Azerbaijani armed forces in Artsakh use weapons of mass destruction containing chemical elements. They are using phosphorus-containing weapons that are prohibited under international law, as well as other weapons of mass destruction containing chemicals. These chemical weapons are dropped in the forests of Artsakh, they cause destruction and mass fires, which are not extinguishable by water or conventional methods. The forests in which these chemicals have been dumped are located near civilian settlements (currently in Shushi, Martakert, Askeran regions), where civilians took shelter from Azerbaijani armed attacks.

Earlier, Azerbaijan used a large number of cluster munitions.

The Azerbaijani side dehumanizes, humiliates, brutally tortures, beheads Armenian captives, and then videotapes, spreads on social networks, and sends footage to relatives of the killed. The methods used are identical to those used against prisoners of war by the Islamic State (ISIS) or other terrorist groups.

The impossibility of exchanging corpses and prisoners of war for more than a month has been absolutely inhumane. The absence of willingness for exchanging bodies and prisoners of war proves the obvious contempt of Azerbaijan for its victims.

The Azerbaijani Armed Forces fired at the Sotk community, near the town of Vardenis, Gegharkunik region, Armenia, as a result of which a 14-year-old child was seriously injured.

On November 2, the Azerbaijani side fired artillery shells at the military positions of the RA Armed Forces in the settlement of Davit Bek, as a result of which one civilian was killed and two others were wounded.

Սփյուռքի Գլխավոր Հանձնակատարի Գրասենյակ Diaspora High Commissioner's Office