ICRC facilitates repatriation of woman who crossed border to Azerbaijan

ICRC facilitates repatriation of woman who crossed border to Azerbaijan

PanARMENIAN.Net - The 76-year-old Armenian woman, who had crossed the border to Azerbaijan, was repatriated to Armenia in an operation carried out under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

“The handover took place on the road between the Azerbaijani town of Gazakh and the Armenian town of Ijevan, on the international border,” the Mission said in a statement.

Baku Defense Ministry issued a statement on November 9, suggesting an Armenian citizen has crossed the border to Azerbaijan.

Lusik Abovyan, 73, was reported to have crossed the border. “The woman will be transferred to the Armenian side after appropriate measures are taken,” the Ministry said in a statement.

As the chief of the village of Koti in Armenia’s Tavush province, Felix Melikyan told PanARMENAIN.Net, search for Lusik Abovyan started on midday and no news transpired since. According to Melikyan, no information on the woman’s border crossing was available.

Acting as a neutral mediator and in accordance with its mandate, the ICRC facilitated the handover process, cooperating with the Armenian and Azerbaijani authorities.

Lusik Abovyan had previously confirmed to the ICRC staff that she was returning of her own free will. ICRC representatives were also in contact with her family prior to the operation.

On the basis of its mandate under the Geneva Conventions, the ICRC has been working in the region since 1992 in connection with the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

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