Azerbaijan May Be Acting Against Armenian Soldiers Hidden in Forests, Camouflaging as an Attack: David Babayan

"The Ministry of Defense should clearly state that there is no such thing. It is possible that Azerbaijan is simply engaging in provocations there," said David Babayan, an advisor to the President of Artsakh, in an interview with "Factinfo," addressing the situation that arose in Hadrut the previous day.

It should be noted that since yesterday, Azerbaijani media have been reporting that combat operations have taken place there. Ahmad Shahidov, head of the Azerbaijani Institute for Human Rights and Democracy, has also stated that a new war with Armenia is already inevitable.

When asked whether these are merely provocations or whether the Azerbaijani side is taking steps to discover Armenian soldiers hidden in the forests—referring to the recent finding of 6 soldiers and two civilians who had been missing for more than two months—Babayan stated, "If there are our children hiding in the forests, perhaps they are acting against them and trying to disguise it as an attack from the Armenian side. We need to clarify all of this, but it is clear that Azerbaijan is once again resorting to provocations that are directed against both the Armenian side and Artsakh and Russia."

When asked if there are Armenian soldiers in the forests and whether shots heard from the Azerbaijani side are connected to this, he mentioned that this cannot be ruled out, and information needs to be verified, as, in the face of Azerbaijan, we are indeed dealing with a terrorist country that does not hide its essence.

"Everything must be done to ensure that the children are safe, in cooperation with the Russian peacekeeping forces, that is, in a proper manner. It should not be the case that children's lives are endangered when they are already at risk," Babayan said.

After midnight, several Azerbaijani media outlets reported renewed fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani military personnel near the village of Togh in Hadrut. According to an official statement from the Ministry of Defense, no unit of the Artsakh Defense Army participated in any actions in that area, and moreover, no extraordinary incidents involving the units of the Artsakh Defense Army have been recorded. Nevertheless, the Armenian side is trying to clarify additional information.

"Hadrut is under their complete control; it is not even a frontline. Now, what is happening there must be clarified through peacekeeping missions or other means; we will see what is going on, but, overall, it is calm in Artsakh," Babayan emphasized.

David Babayan pointed out that Azerbaijan is taking these steps because it has three clear goals: to terrorize Artsakh so that people are afraid and do not return or those who have already returned leave Artsakh out of fear of impending war.

"Secondly, they are striking at the reputation of Russia. Thirdly, they are trying to undermine Armenian-Russian fraternal relations because if they strike at Russia, they effectively want to show that the peacekeepers are either unable or unwilling to resolve the issue. This is an attack on Armenian-Russian fraternal relations; we must understand this well so that our countermeasures are appropriate," Babayan added.

Babayan also mentioned that they are in constant communication with the peacekeeping forces, and in response to a question about whether they have consulted them regarding the reports of gunfire in Hadrut, he stated, "Everything will be done by the relevant authorities, do not worry."

The mayor of Hadrut, Vahan Savadyan, said in an interview with the media that he had read about the situation on various websites. When asked whether it is possible that the Azerbaijanis are trying to intimidate and flush out hidden Armenian soldiers from the forests of Hadrut with gunfire, he replied, "That version cannot be ruled out either."