According to Fact-Finding Data, Azerbaijani Armed Forces Ignite Shootings Targeting Villages: Ombudsman

The head of the Department of the Human Rights Defender's Office presented violations of residents' rights due to Azerbaijani criminal acts to military attaches at the Armenian Ministry of Defense.

On July 28, a meeting took place at the administrative complex of the Armenian Ministry of Defense with military attaches of foreign embassies accredited in Armenia. The head of the Human Rights Defender's Office, Artem Sedrakyan, also participated in the meeting. This was reported by the Human Rights Defender's staff.

He reported on the situation post-early morning starting in Gegharkunik, with a focus on human rights violations caused by the intense shootings instigated by Azerbaijani armed forces, as well as the results of ongoing fact-finding work carried out by the Human Rights Defender.

Artem Sedrakyan informed that civil residents in the Gegharkunik region have been alerting the Defender's office since late at night about continuous gunfire from Azerbaijani servicemen targeting the villages of Verin Shorja and Kut. It was also recorded that Azerbaijani armed personnel located on Armenia's sovereign territory are shooting towards other villages in the region (Sotk, Azat, Norabak, Nerkin Shorja, etc.).

The representative of the Human Rights Defender stated that according to fact-finding data, the shootings are instigated by the Azerbaijani armed forces, occurring directly adjacent to Armenian villages, including towards the villages themselves. The facts obtained confirm that Azerbaijani gunfire can only be thwarted by the retaliatory fire of the Armenian Armed Forces, who are protecting the rights, lives, and peace of our residents.

According to the assessment of the Human Rights Defender's Office, under these conditions, the Azerbaijani authorities bear the responsibility for the violations of residents' rights caused by today's shootings, for the rights violated by the killing of 3 Armenian servicemen, and for the harm done to the health of those wounded.