I Have Already Turned to Stone, How Much Longer Should I Wait for My Child's Body: Mother of Missing Soldier

Today, relatives of fallen and missing soldiers blocked Heratsi Street. Arsen Ghukasyan, a relative of a missing serviceman, shared on Facebook Live that parents have discovered discrepancies in the officially presented numbers regarding their sons and the bodies of missing soldiers. Specifically, it was reported on November 23 that around 21 bodies had been presented to the morgue in Artsakh, but a few days ago they found out that 200 bodies had emerged from an unknown source.

Alvina Nerkaryan, the mother of fallen soldier Hovhannes Nerkaryan, informed reporters that her child's body has not been returned for 7 months. “At least bring the body home so I know where to mourn, but now they tell me the body is lost. Where is it lost? On October 13, they said my son was killed. I have checked the morgues, but we are not allowed inside; they say we should wait for the DNA results. I have already turned to stone, how much longer should I wait for my child's body,” said Alvina Nerkaryan.

It should be noted that the parents of fallen and missing servicemen are preparing to tour morgues across the republic to clarify the exact number of bodies, as there are inaccuracies in the official data. Raphael Vardanyan, head of the forensic department of the Investigative Committee, stated that the parents want to verify the information. “There is doubt among the parents of the servicemen, and now we will go for checks; they do not believe. This is merely a verification operation, nothing more,” said Raphael Vardanyan.