A Resident of Akhalkalaki Shares Details of Altercation in Batumi: Azerbaijanis Approached Us and Said, 'Karabakh is Ours'

In the city of Batumi, Georgia, four Armenian minors were injured following a brawl between Armenians from Akhalkalaki and Turks who arrived from Baku. The altercation took place between 12 Azerbaijanis and 5 Armenians, and one police officer was also injured.

In an interview with Tert.am, participant A. Aivazyan recounted, "We had gone to Batumi, separated from five friends, and went to the beach. We were approached by Turks who introduced themselves as being from Baku, asking what our nationality was, to which we responded that we were Armenians. They said, 'Listen, Karabakh is ours.' Naturally, we rebutted and said that there is no such thing, Karabakh is ours. This was followed by one of them hitting our friend. I called the other members of our group to come to the scene, but in the meantime, I was also hit, and blood started coming from my ear, and they left."

Aivazyan further mentioned that during this time, they noticed one of their friends, Karen, was missing. According to him, they started searching for him with the police and found him 15 minutes later, after which they began looking for the Azerbaijanis.

"A Georgian told me where the Azerbaijanis were located. We went there, hit one of them, and other Turks came close, leading to a fight during which Martun Ustyan was stabbed. He is currently in the hospital but is expected to return home in a few days. Four of us were injured, three of whom are from the village of Goman. A policeman was also stabbed while trying to intervene, injuring his hand," Aivazyan told the news outlet.

He noted that after the incident, the police escorted them in a vehicle and they returned home. They were then questioned at the police station and are now waiting for the proceedings.