The Murder of a Shepherd Was Executed on the Orders of Azerbaijan's Highest Authorities, Says Artsakh's Foreign Ministry

On December 3, Seyran Smbatovich Sarkisyan, a 1956-born resident of the Martuni region in the Artsakh Republic, was captured and killed by Azerbaijani units while engaging in animal husbandry after getting lost.

This was stated in an announcement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Artsakh Republic. This terrorist and barbaric act is a manifestation of the anti-Armenian and genocidal policies carried out at the state level in Azerbaijan and was conducted under the instructions of Azerbaijan's highest authorities.

One of the evidences for this is the false statement released by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense, which attempts to justify the terrorist actions of the Azerbaijani armed forces. Such behavior from official Baku constitutes a gross violation of international law and international humanitarian law, showing blatant disregard for all reached agreements and aims to intimidate the population of Artsakh, forcing them to abandon their homeland.

This policy also represents a brutal blow to the peacekeeping mission carried out by Russia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Artsakh Republic strongly condemns Azerbaijan's terrorist policy and calls on the international community to adequately assess Azerbaijan's uncontrollable actions.

The Foreign Ministry urges the people of Artsakh not to succumb to provocations and reiterates that Artsakh has been, is, and will remain Armenian; nothing can undermine our determination and steadfastness to live in our homeland.