63 Military Deaths Recorded in Artsakh During 2018

The Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia and the Defense Army of Artsakh recorded 63 military deaths during 2018, which included 27 conscripts, 23 contract soldiers, 2 junior officers, and 11 officers. This information was provided by the Office of the Prosecutor General of Armenia.

Of the 63 soldiers, 38 deaths were related to military service, while 25 occurred under circumstances not connected to military service.

Specifically, among the deaths related to military service, the causes include:

• 7 due to killing by the enemy;
• 11 due to suicide or attempts at suicide;
• 2 due to violations of weapon handling rules;
• 3 due to illness;
• 1 due to mine explosion;
• 1 due to homicide;
• 3 due to accidents;
• 6 due to traffic accidents related to service;
• 2 due to violations of combat service rules;
• 2 due to violations during flights or their preparation.

The 25 deaths unrelated to military service were attributed to the following causes:

• 11 due to civilian traffic accidents;
• 10 due to illness;
• 4 due to accidents.

For comparison, in 2017, the Armed Forces of Armenia and the Defense Army of Artsakh reported 76 military deaths, of which 56 were related to military service and 20 were not.

The comparative analysis indicates a decrease of 13 deaths or 17 percent overall in military deaths compared to the previous year. Notably, there was a significant decrease of 18 deaths or 32 percent in deaths directly related to military service.

Sadly, however, there was an increase of 5 deaths or 20 percent in instances not related to military service compared to 2017.

In 2017, the 56 deaths related to military service were due to the following reasons:

• 23 due to killing by the enemy;
• 10 due to suicide or attempts at suicide;
• 4 due to violations of weapon handling rules;
• 4 due to illness;
• 4 due to mine explosions;
• 3 due to homicide;
• 4 due to accidents;
• 4 due to traffic accidents related to service.

In 2017, the 20 deaths not related to military service occurred under these circumstances:

• 1 due to homicide;
• 5 due to civilian traffic accidents;
• 12 due to illness;
• 2 due to accidents.

It is noteworthy that compared to 2017, there was more than a threefold decrease in cases of deaths due to fire from the enemy in violation of the ceasefire.