After the Death of 3 Soldiers in Syunik, Soldiers Assault Commanders with 50 People

Recently, the Ministry of Defense reported that four contract soldiers were trapped under an avalanche in the Syunik region of Armenia, near military unit N. Three soldiers were killed and one managed to survive. According to Hraparak.am's sources in the Ministry of Defense, the incident occurred near the village of Geghi in the Syunik region. There is approximately a 3.5 km road from the military unit to the positions, which the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine usually clears with fuel supply provided to the military unit. However, this time the road had not been cleared, despite the fuel being allocated.

Moreover, a new company commander has recently been appointed in Syunik, and the platoon commander of that military unit has also changed. According to the same source, after the incident, a major altercation and scuffle occurred within the military unit. About 50 soldiers assaulted the commanders, demanding explanations regarding the incident. The tensions escalated to the point that the commander of the 4th Army Corps, Artak Budaghyan, suggested to Kapan's Mayor Gevorg Parsyan to go to the site together. However, they were unable to ease the tension, and after some time, Budaghyan and Parsyan left the military unit, stating they would return to the issue later.

It should be noted that in the first 44 days of this year, 13 soldiers have died in the army under unexplained circumstances. Our source in the Ministry of Defense explains this by the fact that the command personnel have lost control over the contract soldiers and regular servicemen. The same situation prevails in most military units, both in Armenia and Artsakh.

We contacted the press secretary of the Ministry of Defense, Artsrun Hovhannisyan, who stated that he had no information regarding the incident. Hraparak.am also reached out to Kapan's Mayor Gevorg Parsyan, who confirmed that an incident took place, in which he personally participated to calm the situation: "There was no brawl, nor was there a significant argument; the contract soldiers had some questions for the commanders - a Q&A, that was it. There was no material issue, it was more about interpersonal relations, non-statutory relations." When asked if Corps Commander Artak Budaghyan was present with him, Parsyan hesitated and replied, "It wasn't like that; do you know how it was? I invited the guys to talk at my place last night; I didn't go there."