Young Men Who Neutralized Azerbaijani Soldier Questioned by National Security Service

Young men Gohar Ohanyan and Levon Hayrapetyan, who neutralized an Azerbaijani soldier near the village of Ajanan in the Syunik province, were invited to the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia for questioning yesterday. Gohar Ohanyan stated in a conversation with NEWS.am that they were asked about the details of the incident and shared what they had previously communicated to the media. He also confirmed that they had seen the confiscated phone belonging to the Azerbaijani soldier at the NSS and reiterated that it belonged to the slain 57-year-old guard.

It should be noted that the NSS has not yet announced any criminal proceedings regarding this matter. Armenian National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan declared in Saint Petersburg that a second Azerbaijani intruder is suspected of murdering the guard at the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine. It was also mentioned by the MP from the ruling Civil Contract party, Narek Ghahramanyan, that the Azerbaijani soldier had killed the 57-year-old guard.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Defense, an Azerbaijani serviceman was discovered and detained on April 10 between 1:00-2:00 AM within Armenia's territory. He was accompanied by another serviceman. Azerbaijani media, referencing their Ministry of Defense, reported that two Azerbaijani soldiers had gone missing, indicating that they had become disoriented towards the direction of Nakhchivan due to poor weather conditions and limited visibility.

The Azerbaijani soldiers had knocked on the door of one of the residents in the rural community of Bnuni in Syunik. The first detainee was located in the community of Ashotavan, where he was neutralized by locals. The communities of Bnuni and Ashotavan are quite far from Azerbaijani positions, approximately 20 kilometers away. The second Azerbaijani was also found by citizens who noticed and neutralized him through the efforts of three young men from the village of Ajanan. According to their recount, the Azerbaijani had in his possession the phone of the murdered guard.

Remarkably, during a parliamentary session, Prime Minister Pashinyan stated that according to their information, shortly after crossing the border, the second soldier had expressed regret and wished to return to his side.