Active Efforts Underway to Identify Individuals Depicted in Footage Distributed by Azerbaijan: Artsakh Defense Army

On December 29, footage was circulated in the Azerbaijani online domain, showing what the Azerbaijani side claims to be the bodies of six Armenian servicemen killed near the village of Hakaku in the occupied Hadrut region of Artsakh. This information was reported by the Artsakh Defense Army.

The statement also mentions: “The Defense Army of the Republic of Artsakh reaffirms its earlier statement that no unit or serviceman of the Defense Army was engaged in any combat operations on December 27 or on the days preceding or following it, and not a single shot was fired. The ceasefire regime has been maintained along the entire length of the contact line.”

Furthermore, it is evident that in presenting the so-called “fights,” Azerbaijan speaks of a village deep in territories under their control, far from the front line, where Defense Army servicemen would have had to cross the front line and conduct an offensive behind enemy lines. Given the presence of Azerbaijani armed forces as well as the factor of the Russian peacekeeping mission, this is simply not feasible.

It is also worth noting the “coincidence” that the day before, Azerbaijan violated previously agreed conditions and did not allow search groups to enter the areas where, according to them, these “fights” took place. This comes despite the fact that an agreement on the work of search groups in those areas was reached on December 27, that is, on the very day they claimed hostilities were underway.

The combination of these facts suggests that the actions and statements of the Azerbaijani side are aimed at covering up yet another war crime, and that the refusal to allow search groups into the specified areas serves this very purpose. Currently, active efforts are underway to identify the individuals depicted in the released footage. The Defense Army does not rule out that this involves the brutal murder of citizens who had previously been in Azerbaijani captivity.

We strictly condemn this behavior of the Azerbaijani side, which contradicts the logic of the trilateral statement of November 9. The Republic of Artsakh will be consistent in revealing the war crimes committed by Azerbaijan.