Driver Could Not See Attacker Due to Heavy Fog, Says Artsakh Ombudsman

The Ombudsman of Artsakh, Gegham Stepanyan, has addressed the incident of an attack by Azerbaijanis on a vehicle transporting the bodies of Armenian soldiers via his Facebook page. He established contact with the driver of the vehicle.

“According to him, the incident occurred approximately two kilometers from the 'Shushi' substation towards Berdzor (Shushi-Lisagor) area. Due to heavy fog, the driver could not see who the attacker was, but he reported that the strikes were frontal, which reduces the likelihood of damage to the vehicle from rocks falling from the nearby cliffs,” the Ombudsman noted, adding that given the proximity of the incident to the city of Shushi, there is a high probability that the vehicle was pelted with stones by Azerbaijanis.

He also reminded that this is the second incident within the past week reported in the media, where Azerbaijan has grossly violated the agreements reached in the trilateral statement, posing a threat to the physical safety and property of the citizens of Artsakh and Armenia. “It is important to emphasize that the vehicle was transporting the bodies of deceased servicemen, meaning it was carrying out a humanitarian function,” the Ombudsman stressed.

He urged the law enforcement agencies of the Republic of Artsakh to pay attention to the documented incident and called for a comprehensive investigation to clarify the circumstances of the incident. It is worth mentioning that social networks reported today that last night, at around 1:30 AM, Azerbaijanis threw stones at the vehicle transporting the bodies of deceased servicemen on the Stepanakert-Goris road, breaking its windows. However, the driver did not stop and managed to safely reach the destination with the vehicle loaded with the remains of the deceased.