The fate of more than 70 Artsakh Armed Forces soldiers is unknown after Azerbaijani forces continue an armed standoff in Artsakh’s Hadrut district, which began late last week when they attacked the Hin Tagher and Khtsaberd villages in an effort to seize them.
Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan on Wednesday, in an address to the nation, confirmed that “several doze” Artsakh soldiers were taken captive by Azerbaijani soldiers around the Khtsaberd village. He also said that the Artsakh Defense ministry was attempting to “clarify” all circumstances.
Harutyunyan also revealed that Azerbaijani forces continued their “provocations” around the Hin Shen village near Shushi, as well as Berdadzor, another village near the area. both villages are under Armenian control following the November 9 agreement that ended the war, but saw the forces surrender of Artsakh territories to Azerbaijan, including Shushi.
Azerbaijani forces attacked Hadrut’s Hin Tager and Khtsaberd villages late Friday and into Saturday, when Russian peacekeeping forces, which were not stationed at the line of contact, arrived and attempted to quell the situation.
While military skirmishes ended and the Russian peacekeepers claimed to have control of the villages, it appears that the Azerbaijani forces have occupied the Hin Tagher village and have not retreated to their positions behind the line of contact...
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Armenia’s opposition called on their supporters on Wednesday to join a national strike on Dec. 22 to press for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who they accuse of bungling the conflict with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
ReplyDeletePashinyan, who swept to power in a peaceful revolution in May 2018, accepted a Russian-brokered ceasefire deal last month to end a bloody conflict between Azeri and ethnic Armenian forces over the Nagorno-Karabkh enclave and surrounding areas.
The deal locked in territorial gains for Azerbaijan, sparking protests in Yerevan. He has accepted responsibility for the conflict’s outcome, but declined to resign, ignoring a deadline set by his critics to step down earlier this month.
Hundreds of opposition demonstrators rallied in Yerevan and chanted for his exit as the deadline passed last week. They have called for snap elections to be held and also put forward a possible interim leader to replace Pashinyan.
“….We will continue accumulating power so that Tuesday (Dec. 22) becomes decisive,” Ishkhan Saghatelyan, one of the opposition leaders, told supporters at a rally in Yerevan where he announced the strike plans.
On Wednesday, Pashinyan said in an interview with RFE/RL that it was not up to him to call a snap election and that such a move would have to be agreed with other parliamentary parties.
DeleteHe said the opposition forces criticising him over the ceasefire deal were the same factions who had demanded his exit in December last year.
“Essentially, nothing has changed all this time,” he said.