Azerbaijani authorities must be held accountable for war crimes: Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - The international community has been actively condemning recent developments in Nagorno Karabakh, calling on all side to show restraint, cease the military actions and avoid from further escalating the situation.

In a statement released Monday, April 4, Armenian Defense Ministry stressed that the Republic of Armenia is committed to ensuring the security of the Nagorno Karabakh people. At the same time, citing Armenia as a party that doesn’t directly participate in military actions, the Ministry stressed the importance of the international community’s calls being directed to the sides actually involved in the actions, i.e. Azerbaijani and the Nagorno Karabakh authorities.

According to the Ministry, specific measures should be coordinated and implemented in order to reach a ceasefire, such as developing technical conditions for defining a ceasefire, implementing the removal/division of conflicting forces and agreeing on mechanisms of maintaining the ceasefire.

At the same time, the Ministry seeks to draw the international community’s attention to the fact that the military violence, unleashed by Azerbaijan, is a violation of a number of international legal documents such as the UN Charter, the 1970 Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States and the 1975 Helsinki Final Act.

“The Azerbaijani forces and armed militants have perpetrated multiple terrorist acts against the Nagorno Karabakh troops and the civilian population, which are defined as war crimes under the international humanitarian law,” the Ministry said. “Both the Azerbaijani authorities and persons who have committed military crimes must be held accountable for the breaches of the international law and the war crimes.”

On the night of April 1-2, Azerbaijani armed forces initiated overt offensive operations in the southern, southeastern and northeastern directions of the line of contact with Nagorno Karabakh.

As many as 18 Karabakh servicemen were killed and 35-40 were wounded in the course of military operations. A civilian, 11-year-old Vaghinak Grigoryan was also killed, with 6 other civilians, including two kids, wounded, Besides, three elderly Armenians were brutally killed in Talish.

As of April 4, the Azerbaijani side has lost 20 tanks and over 5 armored vehicles, including an IFV, as well as 1 TOS-1A Solntsepyok multiple rocket launcher, 2 military helicopters and 6 unmanned aerial vehicles.

One Karabakh tank has been destroyed so far.