Azerbaijani Positions Open Fire on Residential Houses: Gegham Stepanyan

On February 11, around 05:50 AM, bursts of gunfire were directed towards observed residential houses from Azerbaijani positions located near the communities of Karmir Shuka and Taghavard in the Martuni region of the Republic of Artsakh. This was reported by Artsakh's Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan.

“Considering the distance between the settlements and Azerbaijani positions, and the fact that the residential area of the village is directly observable from those positions, it is undeniable that the Azerbaijani side has deliberately targeted the homes of peaceful residents, resulting in damage to residential properties, including walls and roofs. During the same operations aimed at terrorizing peaceful residents, a bullet struck the window of a home in the Karmir Shuka community, penetrating into the living room where the host's three minor children and wife were awakened from sleep due to the sound of gunfire,” Stepanyan stated.

It is notable that the described incident was yet another manifestation of the recent periodical acts of terrorization by the Azerbaijani armed forces. The Human Rights Defender of Artsakh reiterates that the Azerbaijani military positions located near peaceful settlements pose a direct and indisputable threat to the rights of the populace of Artsakh, particularly the right to life.

I reaffirm the claim that Azerbaijan’s criminal actions have a periodic and systematic nature aimed at creating an atmosphere of fear and despair in Artsakh. Azerbaijan will continue its criminal attempts against the people of Artsakh until the international community unanimously condemns its blatant illegalities against humanity,” Gegham Stepanyan emphasized.