62 Soldiers from Shirak Region Surrendered Armed to Azerbaijani Forces

Lawyer Vahan Hovhannisyan wrote on his Facebook page:

“Yesterday I published a report stating that 62 soldiers from the Shirak region, fully armed, voluntarily surrendered to 4 to 7 Azerbaijani soldiers without firing a single shot. After that publication, many individuals called or messaged me expressing doubts about the veracity of the post. To clarify these doubts, I present below the testimonies of more than a dozen individuals who returned from captivity (in fact, there are many more). I leave the assessments to you.

1. Victim S.S. testified that, “We continued to walk with 62 people towards... After sitting there for about 15-20 minutes, we decided to approach the boys in front of us to understand what was happening. They told us that someone speaking fluent Russian on the enemy's side said not to worry, that everything was normal, so we decided to surrender. I approached and saw that 4-5 people were standing a few meters in front of our abandoned weapons, and the one standing in front said in fluent Russian that we should not be afraid, that the order was to lay down our weapons and approach them. As we walked forward, we saw that there were armed 3-4 Azerbaijanis near the three shots. In the initial moments, there were about 7-8 Azerbaijanis there.”

2. Victim R.K. testified that, “We all, 62 in total, left those positions. We handed over all the weapons and ammunition we had, after which the Azerbaijanis tied our hands and said we had to go with them wherever they took us, to be handed over to the Russians nearby, and anyone who tried to resist would be killed on the spot. There were about 7 Azerbaijani soldiers and one commander at that location.”

3. Victim M.A. testified that, “On December 13, 2020, at around 4 PM, our crew of 62 moved towards … and there were Azerbaijani soldiers standing there. There were 3-4 Azerbaijani soldiers who told us to surrender our weapons. About 60-70 meters away in the darkness, two tents were visible. In the initial moments, there were 7-8 Azerbaijanis there.”

4. Victim Z.M. testified that, “We climbed the position with a total of 62… As we walked forward, we saw armed 3-4 Azerbaijanis near the three shots.”

5. Victim H.M. testified that, “We were a total of 62. In that location, there were 3-4 Azerbaijani soldiers next to whom we passed and surrendered our weapons.”

6. Victim S.M. testified that, “Around 8 PM, we reached the mentioned positions, and to our surprise at those positions, we saw Azerbaijani 'Yashma' special forces. There were initially about 6-7 of them… and we surrendered our weapons.”

7. Victim Y.K. testified that, “Upon reaching the village of Lisagor, Azerbaijani special forces, known as the 'Yashma' unit, and Turkish soldiers numbering about 10-12 came out in front of us, to whom we surrendered.”

8. Victim V.H. testified that, “Upon reaching the specified position, we saw that no one was there. Knowing that the other squad was located in our rear left, we moved in that direction. Some of our guys had fallen ahead of us by a few hundred meters, and when they reached the boys' positions thinking they were our boys, they entered the ditches and realized that it was Azerbaijanis. At their request, we surrendered our weapons. I noticed about 10 Azerbaijanis in the initial moments.”

9. Victim A.M. testified that, “Upon reaching an unfamiliar area, Azerbaijani special forces, dubbed ‘Yashma’ unit, emerged in front of us, about 6-8 of them, who presented themselves as unit soldiers. Upon noticing us, they aimed their weapons at us and suggested we surrender our weapons, ammunition, and vests.”

10. Victim E.A. provided a similar testimony as A.M., describing how Azerbaijani special forces emerged and demanded the surrender of their weapons.

11. Victim V.M. testified that after descending from positions, they encountered 6-7 Turkish soldiers from the 'Yashma' unit, who suggested they surrender and they complied.

12. Victim T.G. testified similarly, recounting their encounter with Turkish soldiers from the 'Yashma' unit suggesting they surrender, which they did.”