Villagers argue with Armenian MoD about advancement of Azerbaijani soldiers

According to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Armenia, the information that the Azerbaijani armed forces advanced one kilometre into the Kapan municipality of the Syunik region does not correspond to real facts. Residents of the Nerkin Hand community complain that they had to stop driving cattle to pastures after Azerbaijani soldiers had been deployed in their new positions.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that after the aggravation of the Karabakh conflict in the autumn of 2020, armed incidents regularly occur in the region.

According to Arman Tatoyan, the former Ombudsperson of Armenia, the Azerbaijani armed forces advanced one kilometre into the territory of Armenia. The former Ombudsperson emphasized that he was talking about the territory of the village of Nerkin Hand.

The Armenian MoD denied the information about the advance of the Azerbaijani armed forces into the territory of Armenia. “There is no progress, and not only on the mentioned section of the border, but also on other sections. The Armenian armed forces keep the situation under control,” the Armenian MoD reported.

Kapan Mayor Gevorg Parsyan also announced that the Azerbaijani armed forces advanced into the territory of Armenia. “It has become unsafe for local residents to engage in agriculture, as their pastures have come under the control of Azerbaijanis,” Gevorg Parsyan told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

According to the Mayor of Kapan, the Armenian MoD’s refutation was “somewhat strange, because it did not correspond to real facts.”

Azerbaijani soldiers set up five tents directly opposite the village of Nerkin Hand, local resident Asmik Gazaryan said. “There have not been any tents earlier, but now the villagers have lost the opportunity to engage in agriculture, and this is the only source of income for these people,” Asmik Gazaryan told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 16, 2022 at 12:53 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.