VIDEO: Azerbaijanis Trapped Soldiers by Speaking Armenian, Recounts Soldier Who Saw 300 Deaths

Narek Tumanian was deployed to Hadrut only 2.5 months after being drafted. The enemy had launched an attack, and the 18-20 year old boys were defending the front lines. Although they expected to fight the enemy face to face, they soon realized they were unprotected, as the enemy was attacking from the air. After 30 days of fighting in Hadrut, they received an order to retreat. They marched to the Martuni region and then relocated to Askeran. On November 5, they were instructed to move to Shushi. The fortified city did not promise safety for the soldiers.

“We didn’t know that the situation was so tense. Before the war, we were told that Shushi was the safest part of all of Artsakh,” he recounted in an interview with “Factinfo.” Vehicles were unable to enter Shushi; they were stopped on the road and had to walk up. After two hours of battles, they received orders to slightly retreat. Two days later, Narek found himself encircled with the commander. The commander was killed in the battlefield when the enemy, proficient in Armenian, deceived the group of Armenian soldiers.

“They said help had arrived, that they had wounded, and called us to assist. They confused us into coming toward them, and our platoon commander believed that they were Armenians and advanced. They opened fire from ten meters away, threw grenades, leading to the deaths of the soldiers and officers going in front,” Narek explained.

The enemy was close by, and the encirclement was gradually closing in, causing the soldiers to dwindle in number. The situation had become unstable, and they found themselves in an almost hopeless situation. According to Narek, even encountering Azerbaijanis felt like the last stop, yet they managed to escape the looming danger at that moment. After the commander was killed, they hid under rocks to evade fire. The only option left was to enter the forest, which was also targeted by the enemy.

“We realized we had no other choice. If there’s even a 1% chance that we can save ourselves, it’s through the forest. If we stay on the road, we will definitely not survive. One of the soldiers’ words stuck with me: he said, ‘if we enter the forest now and die, forget about finding our bodies; it’s better to die on the road in an open area where they can find us if something happens.’ Our platoon commander goes into the forest ahead of us, but we lose him and are led by our sergeants,” said Narek.

For further details, visit the original source.