Shushi Cultural House Bombed on October 3, 22 Police Officers Killed: Authorities Concealed for Months, Narek Malyan

Leader of the "VETO" civic movement Narek Malyan made a post on his Facebook page directed at police officers. In his post, Malyan stated that on October 3, the Shushi Cultural House was bombed by Israeli Lora missiles, resulting in the death of 22 police officers, whose names the authorities have remained silent about until today.

He particularly noted, "Dear police officers, this post is specifically for you. On October 3, the Shushi Cultural House was bombed with an Israeli Lora missile. At that time, hundreds of your fellow officers from Tavush, Lori, and Shirak regional departments were present at the cultural house. These police officers were mostly from the 'community' units and juvenile inspectors. They were not military soldiers, but they were misled under the pretense of volunteer work, transported to Shushi by bus, where they were preparing to be sent to the front line without any prior preparation.

As a result of the missile strike, 21 police officers were killed on the spot, and another, Hakob Tovmasyan, later died in the hospital. Hundreds of police officers were injured and became disabled. Months after the funeral of the victims, the authorities refused to publish the names of the fallen officers and to register them as combat casualties to avoid compensating the families of the victims. This is the same authority that some police officers are today 'protecting' in the streets.

Among the deceased was a police officer named Vahe Ghazaryan from the Tavush regional administration, who is a relative of the police chief Vahe Ghazaryan. Another horrifying fact I want to bring to light is that following the bombing of the Shushi Cultural House, the militia head of Amasia, Armen Ghazaryan, went missing. He has simply disappeared, and the search efforts have been in vain.

22 dead, 1 missing, hundreds injured—all this the authorities have concealed for months under the guise of propagating victories. And this is only one episode; hundreds of police officers have died during the war, and they have all been taken and slaughtered like this because the traitor hates the police. This is the reality; you must decide whether to continue protecting your comrades who have been slaughtered and this traitor who has hidden it from the public or not. By the way, no police officer was honored with burial in Yerablur.