Human Rights Defender Strongly Condemns Shelling of Armenian Civilian Settlements

The Human Rights Defender has strongly condemned the shelling of civilian settlements in Armenia, targeting the peaceful population, their health and life, and property. This was stated by the Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan on his Facebook page.

“On July 13, 2020, the Azerbaijani side subjected the village of Chinari in Armenia’s Tavush region to targeted shelling. Reports have been received by the Human Rights Defender’s staff from residents of the village and the head of the Chinari community. According to these reports, around a dozen shells were fired from the Azerbaijani side, damaging residential buildings in the village,” Tatoyan wrote, also informing that photos taken after the shelling have been sent to the Human Rights Defender's staff, which evidence damage caused to one of the houses in the village. In another case, the roof of a residential building was damaged, while children were present in the house during the shelling.

Tatoyan stated that immediately following the reports directed to the Human Rights Defender, an official announcement was recorded from the Ministry of Defense of Armenia indicating that the Azerbaijani armed forces fired 7 rounds from an 82 mm mortar and 3 rounds from a 120 mm mortar towards the Chinari settlement.

According to him, the alerts directed to the Human Rights Defender, the official announcements of Armenian state bodies, and posts on social media testify that a civilian peaceful settlement in Armenia was targeted, posing a real danger to the peaceful residents, their lives and health, as well as damage to property.

The Human Rights Defender continues to maintain direct contact with residents of the villages in Tavush region of Armenia and with the administrative bodies of the communities. A comprehensive monitoring is being conducted, and independent gathering of information and facts is underway.

The Human Rights Defender considers the shelling of civilian settlements in Armenia absolutely condemnable, especially in the context of the global pandemic of the new type of coronavirus (COVID-19). “On March 23, due to the threat of the coronavirus, the UN Secretary-General called for an immediate and complete cessation of armed conflicts all over the planet. These records will also be summarized as per the established order and sent to international organizations with a new report. Additional information on this will be provided by the Human Rights Defender,” Tatoyan announced.