Concerns Arise that Azerbaijan has Buried Some of Our Casualties, Says Artak Beglaryan

Artsakh must have a defense institution. The question is not whether it will be called an army, defense forces, or protective troops, but functionally, Artsakh will have an army. This was stated by Artak Beglaryan, Head of the Office of the President of the Republic of Artsakh, in an interview with Hetq.am, noting that the army will ensure the security of the people of Artsakh alongside the security guarantees provided by Russian peacekeepers.

“Of course, Azerbaijan would very much like there to be no armed individuals in Artsakh; I believe they would also prefer that there were no Russian peacekeepers. However, Azerbaijan's desires in this regard have no significance,” declared Artak Beglaryan.

The issue of missing persons and captives is one of the most painful topics in post-war Armenia and Artsakh. After discovering the remains of casualties, it takes a long time for identification. It is evident to the head of the Artsakh presidential office that there have been significant problems in the area of identification. The transfer of data during the collection of bodies and their transportation to the morgue, and then from one morgue to another, has been protracted, but the greatest issue has been and remains the conducting and analyzing of DNA research. In January, the process was slightly expedited with the installation of a second DNA device, which could have been implemented sooner. Hundreds of bodies have still not been identified.

There are suspicions in Artsakh that some of the deceased have been buried. The Azerbaijani side buried them during or after military operations. In specific cases, mass graves have been opened, but there is still work to be done in this direction. Azerbaijan is deliberately prolonging the process of transferring the remains of the deceased and the return of captives. The most painful issue is the return of captives. Azerbaijan is hiding information about the captives. Artak Beglaryan finds it difficult to provide an exact number of captives but notes that in addition to the 59 individuals from Khtsaberd, there are dozens of other cases involving civilians and prisoners of war.