All Boys Who Ate on the Night of the Incident Died, Those Who Did Not Are Alive: Father of the Deceased

Parents of soldiers who died in the tragic fire that broke out on January 19 at the engineering troops' barracks in the village of Azat, Gegharkunik Province, do not believe the results of the investigation, which state that the deaths of 8 out of the 15 victims were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning and burn shock. In an interview with News.am, the parents of junior sergeant Misha Dumikian and Haik Kirakosyan stated that they continue to assert their belief that their sons were already dead before the fire. They assure that most of the other parents share the same opinion. They plan to meet with their representative Norair Norikyan to understand their next steps.

“I am ready to appeal for exhumation and reach the International Court because Armenia does not want to clarify the truth. We have a theory that all the boys who ate on the night of the incident died, while those who did not eat survived. I am convinced that they poisoned the boys either through food or other means and set the fire to cover up the traces. The boys participated in the military operations on September 13; they would wake up at every little noise, they were mine sweepers, very attentive—how could they all have burned?” said Karen Dumikian, father of Misha Dumikian.

Haik Kirakosyan's father, Gabriel Kirakosyan, is also preparing to demand additional investigations abroad. He states that he no longer trusts that the preliminary investigatory body will uncover the real circumstances of the incident. “I no longer trust this state; they have shown their attitude towards the soldiers and their parents. From the very first day, they have investigated the matter in the direction they wanted, and they are still leading it that way. We have never agreed with their theory. We will do everything to achieve justice, and eventually, they will have to explain how the incident occurred,” emphasized Kirakosyan.