Reaction of Artsakh's Ombudsman to Today's Actions by Azerbaijan

On January 10 at around 14:30, due to gunfire directed towards the communities of Karmir Shuka and Taghavard in the Martuni region of the Republic of Artsakh, the Ombudsman of the Republic of Artsakh, Gegham Stepanyan, and the Prosecutor General Gurgen Nersisyan visited the aforementioned communities to gather evidence regarding the incidents and their consequences.

The Artsakh Ombudsman reports that according to the collected facts, the Azerbaijani side has intensified its gunfire towards the residential areas from positions located near peaceful settlements in recent days.

As a result of the gunfire on January 10, a civilian-owned UAZ vehicle, which was parked in the yard of a residential house, caught fire, while three civilians were present in the house at that time. The mentioned residential house is located about 50 meters away from the community's kindergarten. Following the gunfire and the vehicle fire, the normal operation of the kindergarten was disrupted due to the fear that arose among the children and staff, and young children were urgently evacuated.

During the inspection of the scene by law enforcement, bullets that penetrated the vehicle's trunk were discovered. Remnants of bullets from firearm ammunition were also found in the backyard of another house in the central part of the community.

On the same day, as a result of the Azerbaijani gunfire, a resident's large livestock was also injured in one of the pastures belonging to the Taghavard community, while the herder managed to take shelter and return home safely.

On January 10, the Azerbaijani side also opened intense gunfire lasting about 15 minutes towards four civilians engaged in agricultural work in the Nakhichevanik community of the Askeran region of Artsakh, which did not result in human casualties, but damaged agricultural machinery belonging to the farmers. The civilians were under fire for more than an hour and were only brought out of that area with the intervention of Russian peacekeepers.

“Azerbaijan’s targeting of civilian settlements is an infringement on the rights of the peaceful population, primarily the right to life. Azerbaijan's criminal actions aim to terrorize and create an atmosphere of fear and despair among the population of Artsakh. Today’s incidents and numerous similar cases recorded over the past year clearly demonstrate that under the guise of false peacemaking, the Azerbaijani side continues to push forward its program for the depopulation of Artsakh, keeping the civilian population in constant fear throughout the territory of Artsakh, particularly in border settlements. From the perspective of ensuring the proper protection of the security and rights of the population of Artsakh, it is critically important and essential to immediately remove Azerbaijani armed positions from the vicinity of peaceful settlements,” stated the Artsakh Ombudsman’s message.