Armed Aggression Against Artsakh Was Prepared Earlier: Prosecutor's Office

The Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh has revealed that an aggressive war against these entities was unleashed, accompanied by gross violations of international humanitarian law and serious crimes against peace and human security. Investigative findings indicate that as early as the beginning of August this year, numerous servicemen from Turkey's armed forces' special forces, while being part of Azerbaijan’s armed forces, conducted large-scale combat training exercises with Azerbaijani military personnel.

According to the report, these exercises were aimed at acquiring skills and preparedness for conducting combat operations, particularly in mountainous conditions. During these drills, the Turkish servicemen indicated that an attack was imminent on the combat positions of Artsakh.

Starting from September 3, the Azerbaijani reserve was called up under a general mobilization, with public announcements stating that this mobilization was for one week of military exercises. The reserve began to undergo combat training in various units of the Azerbaijani armed forces.

By September 21, both reserve and regular army units were deployed to combat positions near the borders of Azerbaijan and Artsakh. On the night of September 26-27, they received orders to attack the defense army's strongholds in Artsakh in all directions, employing all types of weaponry available in the Azerbaijani armed forces.

Moreover, since mid-September, artillery systems have been stationed densely among the predominantly Azerbaijani populated areas near the border, in gardens of residents, as well as in wooded and less visible locations, under the pretext of conducting exercises. Nonetheless, from the very onset of the war, these systems executed combat missions.

The available factual data indicates that the Turkish special forces personnel directly participated in conducting military operations as per the planned agenda. The investigation of the criminal case is ongoing, and all measures are being taken to fully disclose the circumstances surrounding the events.