October 29, 2020 - 14:54 AMT
Bodies of 29 soldiers killed in fighting returned to Armenian side

The bodies of 29 Armenian servicemen killed in Azerbaijan's aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh were returned to the Armenian side thanks to the mediation of Russia, with the participation of the field team of the ICRC and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Armenian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said on Thursday, October 29.

Stepanyan added that in addition, one civilian returned to Armenia thanks to the efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"The Armenian side, meanwhile, is once again expressing readiness to return the bodies of Azeri soldiers left in the territory of Artsakh to the Azerbaijani side, begin the process of evacuating the bodies from the Artsakh-Azerbaijani front and the transfer of information about the prisoners of war for exchanging them later," Stepanyan said.

Azerbaijan, with help from Turkey and Syrian and Libyan mercenaries deployed by Ankara, started a war against Karabakh (Artsakh) in the morning of September 27. The Armenian side has reported deaths and injuries both among the civilian population and the military. Foreign and local journalists too have been injured in Azeri shelling of towns and villages.

Donations can be made to Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, which has launched a fundraising campaign to support humanitarian efforts in Karabakh.