20 Civilians Killed and 93 Injured in Artsakh Due to Azerbaijani Aggression: Ombudsman

The human rights ombudsman’s office of the Republic of Artsakh has conducted a thorough investigation regarding the criminal acts against the peaceful civilian population by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces during the period from September 27, 2020, to October 7, 2020. The findings are outlined below.

As of October 7, a total of 20 civilians have been killed, including 1 infant girl, 7 women, and 12 men. The infant, five women, and four men were killed in their yards, while the others were in public places in various settlements (central squares, neighborhoods). The death toll includes 7 individuals in Stepanakert, 6 in Martuni, 1 in Hadrut, and 3 in Martakert, as well as 1 in the Alashan settlement of the Martakert region and 1 in the vicinity of the Greater Shen community, and 1 in Aygestan community of Askeran region.

In total, 93 individuals sustained injuries, with 73 people suffering serious wounds. Among them, 60 are male and 13 are female. Of the injured, 37 were wounded directly at their residences due to shell explosions; 6 were injured while being transported to relatively safer areas, 7 at work, and 23 in other public places. The injuries are mainly located on the victims’ upper and lower limbs and faces, manifesting as fragmentary impacts.

In Stepanakert city or its vicinity, 36 individuals received serious injuries, with 3 injured in Hadrut city, 3 in the community of Taghazat, 1 in the Vardashat community of the same region, and 13 in Martuni city. In the Martakert region, 2 were injured in Martakert city, and others in various nearby areas: 6 in the vicinity of Maghavuz, 2 in the Nerkhin Horatagh community, 3 in Alashan, and 1 in the Mataghis community, as well as 2 in the Karvachar community of the Shahumyan region.

Since September 27, Azerbaijani Armed Forces have targeted more than 100 civilian settlements in the Republic of Artsakh, resulting in numerous instances of destruction or damage to infrastructure and private property. Preliminary data indicates that over 4,600 pieces of private real estate (residential buildings, shops, etc.) have been seriously damaged, as well as more than 430 vehicles and approximately 750 infrastructural, public, and industrial objects.

It is important to note that the human rights ombudsman’s office continues its fact-finding mission, and updated information will be provided regarding the results. The ombudsman also emphasizes that the aforementioned casualties and injuries resulted from the use of prohibited weaponry and methods. Azerbaijan has extensively utilized heavy weaponry and aerial means with a wide blast radius against the civilian population, some of which are of a cluster nature. Furthermore, during the last six days, Azerbaijan has deliberately and specifically targeted vital civilian infrastructure in Stepanakert and other settlements, which constitutes a serious war crime and exacerbates the humanitarian disaster in Artsakh.

The ombudsman calls on international human rights organizations to take concrete steps to prevent the deepening of the humanitarian disaster in Artsakh and to provide humanitarian assistance to the population of Artsakh.