Azerbaijan's Armed Forces Have Been Targeting the Only Wheat Field in the Sarushen Community for Days, Says Artsakh Minister

The Minister of Artsakh, Gurgen Nersisyan, reports that Azerbaijan's armed forces have been continuously targeting the only wheat field in the Sarushen community of the Askeran region for several days.

“Azerbaijan has not only kept the people of Artsakh under blockade for over eight months, depriving them of any connection with the Republic of Armenia, but it also constantly creates obstacles for the civilian population to resolve their everyday issues through the use or threat of military force. For several days now, residents of the Sarushen community in the Askeran region of Artsakh have been trying to harvest the crops from the village's only wheat field to address the bread issue, but individuals and agricultural machinery approaching the field are regularly targeted by nearby Azerbaijani positions,” wrote the Artsakh official.

“Although Russian peacekeepers in Artsakh coordinate the harvesting days and times with the Azerbaijani side and these operations are conducted in the presence of peacekeepers on the ground, the moment the work begins, fire from various infantry weapons starts incessantly, after which it is immediately halted, and civilians are assisted by peacekeepers in moving to a safe place. Today, residents of the Sarushen community have again been deprived of the opportunity to gather their only source of bread—the wheat,” the official stated.