Azerbaijanis Took 4 Hostages: What Happened Yesterday in Nerkhin Hand

According to "Hetq", it was reported yesterday that communication with an employee of the Ministry of Emergency Situations had been lost in the Nerkhin Hand area of Syunik Province, who later returned to the Armenian side. This is official information, which does not explicitly state that the employee was taken hostage by the enemy, moreover, he was not alone.

Attempts were made yesterday to contact the press secretary of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Hayk Kostanyan, who, however, did not answer phone calls. However, "Hetq" managed to learn the details of the incident from an informed source, which we present below.

According to our source, who wished to remain anonymous, an ambulance vehicle from Kapan's emergency service went to Nerkhin Hand yesterday to recover bodies from positions above. The source states that there were no representatives of the Red Cross in the vehicle. There was an ambulance driver, two soldiers, and one employee of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. They were not armed. According to "Hetq"'s source, those conducting the evacuation are not given weapons.

On the front line, enemy soldiers took four individuals hostage. The ambulance driver was kept with his hands bound for about four hours, lying on the ground. Then a senior Azerbaijani military officer approached him and asked if he spoke Russian. After that, the Azerbaijanis set a condition that if the Armenian side returns one wounded Azerbaijani and one body, they will release the four hostages, and the bodies of the Armenian side will be returned.

Our source mentions that the driver asked the enemy representatives to release one of the Armenian soldiers who had been taken hostage, to assist him in returning the wounded Azerbaijani and the body. The Azerbaijanis agreed.

According to our source, the Armenian side handed over the wounded Azerbaijani to their own, until the Armenian driver and the soldier returned to their side. Later, the two of them handed over the body of the Azerbaijani soldier to the enemy. After this, the Azerbaijanis released the employee of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the other soldier.