Community Leader: Azeris Wave at Us from 4-5 Meters Away, No Security Guarantees

Most of the pastures of the village of Chacaten in the Syunik region, along with water resources, have remained under Azerbaijani control. Villagers now graze their livestock in other areas. The pastures are scarce, and it sometimes happens that livestock cross into areas controlled by the Azerbaijanis to graze or drink water. Tert.am reports.

On July 26, while grazing, villagers noticed that their four cows were missing, thinking they may have descended to an area called "Yurter" to drink water and crossed into Azerbaijani-controlled territory. This was stated in an interview with Ara Harutyunyan, the head of the Chacaten community.

According to the mayor, one of the villagers, who owned the cows, observed through binoculars that the cattle were close to Azerbaijani tents, tied up. After that, they informed the border guards, who then alerted the Russian peacekeepers.

“When the Russians approached the Azerbaijanis, the villagers saw that the cows were no longer there. The Azerbaijanis told the Russians that they had no cows with them and asked them to prove it by providing video or photos. I don’t understand what kind of video or photography they are talking about. If they had seen them at that moment, they obviously wouldn’t have allowed them to pass and wouldn’t have recorded it. We have appealed to the relevant authorities regarding the incident, and it is currently in process. The villager bought the cow on credit and is unable to pay the interest now; I’ve requested that they freeze the interest until the issue is resolved. Otherwise, he may end up selling his other livestock as well,” the mayor noted.

He mentioned that a similar incident was recorded in February. “I cannot guarantee that a similar incident will not happen tomorrow; we are very close to them, there is a security issue. If this continues, there will be no one left in the village. The residents of the village do not demand money or means to live; they only want security, that is the number one issue. You are afraid to go to your neighbor's house at night. I go back and forth to Chacaten every day, and every day Azerbaijanis wave at me from 4-5 meters away; that is not normal.”

The Azerbaijani side sometimes engages in provocations. Specifically, on Sunday, as they passed on the road with Azerbaijanis just 4-5 meters away, the Azerbaijanis behaved very poorly, started shouting and causing panic among women and children in the vehicle. I reported this to the border troops, and they also informed the Russian peacekeepers,” Harutyunyan stated.

According to him, the closest Azerbaijani position is 650-700 meters away from the village. “Since December, they have been rapidly conducting engineering works on their positions, using leveling equipment, from which we understood that they are building a road. In a month, they organized everything, while we have been requesting for three months from all relevant authorities to repair our road, and we still have no response. God forbid, if a war starts, we will need this road very much. We are waiting, but it is possible that one day we will no longer be able to wait,” he concluded.