Askeran Residents Maintain Vigil Near Akhna Checkpoint: Askeran Leader

Residents of Askeran have set up tents near the Akhna checkpoint and have been maintaining a vigil since the night. Askeran administrative leader Hamlet Apresyan stated this in an interview with NEWS.am.

“The residents are still there and are not planning to allow any Azerbaijani cargo to enter Artsakh. We have a police post in that area, and a bit further down towards Akhna is the Russian peacekeeping forces' post. The Azerbaijani side has not yet crossed the Russian post, as the Russian side is not allowing them to pass,” said Hamlet Apresyan.

In the interview, Apresyan mentioned that the residents are located about 400 meters away from Azerbaijani cargo. “There are about 100 residents who are maintaining the vigil, and at night their number reaches several hundred,” he noted.

According to the website, Hamlet Apresyan emphasized that no assistance from Azerbaijan is needed in Artsakh. “We do not want that; let them open the Lachin corridor. We have fought for decades, lost so many lives, shed blood, and now do we need to receive bread from the enemy? That would be a betrayal to our fallen soldiers,” he stated.