Human Rights Defender Receives Alerts from Residents of Shelling-Affected Areas in Tavush Region

The Office of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia reports that alerts have been received from residents of Movses and several other villages in the Tavush region regarding shelling by Azerbaijani armed forces that began on July 12 around 11 PM.

The Human Rights Defender's office also received similar alerts during the daytime on July 12. According to the complaints from the residents of Movses village, gunfire from the Azerbaijani side is occurring at very close range to the village. Local residents assess that the artillery fire poses a real threat to the civilian population, their health and lives, as well as their property.

Immediately after these alerts, the Human Rights Defender noted the public official statement from the Ministry of Defense of Armenia indicating that the Azerbaijani side is shelling the positions of the Armenian armed forces. Furthermore, the Ministry of Defense confirmed, in response to an urgent inquiry from the Human Rights Defender, that the shelling is taking place in close proximity to calm civilian settlements in the Tavush region, posing a real danger to these localities.

The Human Rights Defender's office maintains direct contact with the residents of border villages in the Tavush region and the local administrative bodies. As an independent national institution for the protection of human rights, the Human Rights Defender strongly condemns the shelling and emphasizes that it occurs in the immediate vicinity of peaceful civilian settlements, creating a real risk to the residents, their health and lives, and their properties. This phenomenon is even more condemnable in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Human Rights Defender calls for the attention of international human rights organizations to these facts and informs that a targeted monitoring initiative has been launched, the results of which will be summarized and sent to international bodies in due course.