Azerbaijanis setting fire to hayfields belonging to Armenian villagers

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Azerbaijani military is setting fire not only to the pastures of Armenia's Gegharkunik province but also to the hay that villagers have freshly baled to prepare for the winter, Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan said in a statement on Tuesday, August 31.

According to the locals, once the Armenian side extinguishes the fires, the Azerbaijanis start new ones. In some areas, the fires have spread and are already reaching the villages nearby, while in others the fires can't even be reached as the Azeris open fire, Tatoyan said.

"As a result of the actions of the Azerbaijani servicemen, pastures and hayfields belonging to civilians are being destroyed, people are being deprived of their livelihood, which in turn contributes to the increase of their social problems," the Ombudsman noted.

"Given that the Azerbaijani armed forces have intruded and are stationed in the immediate vicinity of the villages in the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, the fires pose a real threat to the lives of the civilian population of the villages and their entire property."

Azerbaijani forces violated Armenia’s border in several sections in the provinces of Syunik and Gegharkunik on May 12 and 13 and are still refusing to withdraw their troops from the area. Since then, almost a dozen Armenian servicemen have been killed in Azerbaijan’s shooting, a dozen others have been wounded, while six troops were captured on May 27, although four of them have already returned home.