Missing Artsakh Resident Madat Babayan Contacts Grandson from Baku

Missing Artsakh resident Madat Babayan has established contact with his grandson from Baku. This information was reported by 'Hetq'.

The village of Getavan in the Martakert region of Artsakh came under Azerbaijani control on September 19, 2023, the first day of an attack on Artsakh. Since that day, 71-year-old resident Madat Babayan had been considered missing. His family, unaware of his fate, received a call from Baku on October 9.

“We were in Artashat with the family, and at 10:30 AM, I received a call from a long number. I thought it was relatives from Russia calling. I answered, and they initially spoke in Azerbaijani, then switched to Russian and asked who I was related to Madat Babayan. I said I was his grandson. They handed the phone to my grandpa, he said he was alive and in Baku. I asked if he was injured, but he didn’t answer my questions and said that the phone was being listened to. I told him we would bring him back, and then the call was disconnected,” recounts 20-year-old Alen Babayan, Madat’s grandson.

As reported by the media, Madat Babayan lived in Getavan with three children and 13 grandchildren. His youngest, the fourth son, has been living in Armenia for a long time. On the morning of September 19, Madat was engaged in his usual farm work, looking after more than 100 sheep and a large plot of land.

Azerbaijani military operations against Artsakh began in the afternoon. The neighboring village of Charakhtiar had become directly adjacent to Azerbaijani positions following the 44-day war in 2020. Around 3:00 PM on September 13, Azerbaijanis took control of Charakhtiar, and in the evening, after the residents had left the village, they also took Getavan.

Relatives of Madat Babayan have shared details about the attack on September 19. Madat, his wife, and their eldest grandson Alen lived in one house. In the evening, as villagers moved towards Stepanakert, he went from house to house to ensure that his relatives had evacuated since communication had been disrupted. Confirming that everyone was out, he entered his home one last time to grab a few belongings. A neighbor saw Madat leaving his house and called him to get into their car, but he didn’t hear them. At that moment, explosions were heard nearby, and the car quickly departed.

After 8:00 PM, Getavan came under Azerbaijani control. Madat’s relatives had no information about him and approached various organizations but were unable to clarify anything. From September 24, the process of evacuating Artsakh residents to Armenia began. The Babayan family provided Madat Babayan’s details to the humanitarian station in Goris, which collects information about missing persons. Family members have also submitted DNA samples, searching for him among the bodies recovered from the military operations in Artsakh.

The Babayan family is now in Armenia, temporarily residing in Artashat. Relatives have reported the call from Madat Babayan to the Armenian office of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The media reached out to the Red Cross’s press officer Zara Amatuni to inquire about Madat Babayan’s status in Baku. She responded that this is personal information and hence could not provide any details.