Defense Minister hails Azeri army morale amid soaring deaths

June 2, 2014 - 17:35 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Azeri Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov demanded cruel retaliation for enemy-caused frontline deaths. "Any action by Armenian forces must be given unequivocal response, leaving no Armenian alive on Azeri land," APA quoted the official as saying.

Hasanov further reported a high morale of Azeri frontline serviceman, despite facts testifying to the opposite.

According to statistical data, 38 Azeri soldiers died and 63 were injured over the first 5 months of 2014. Only 8 soldiers died in action; 3 were blown up by a mine, and 27 were referred to as non-combat losses (suicides, diseases, harassment), Doctrine military research center reported.

Out of 63 wounded, 15 were affected in acts of harassment, 5 injured in suicide attempts, 10 were wounded in action, 8 – in mine explosions, 21 – in car accidents.

Seems like Azeri units really have high morale to boast of – on June 1, Azeri career soldier stabbed a fellow serviceman. Or, perhaps Azeris refer to each other as ‘enemies,’ their uninhibited military rhetoric turning upon themselves. In the absence of an actual, and preferably, weak enemy, Baku sates its vengeance on its own soldiers, which may lead to moral decay of the whole army – the army that spent millions on arms race, with its military capacity still at freezing point.