Azerbaijani Armed Forces Dig Trenches and Deploy in Residents' Pastures: Human Rights Defender Report

The Human Rights Defender, Anahit Manasyan, has published an urgent report on the fact-finding activities conducted in the communities of Tegh in the Syunik region and in border villages of Gegharkunik from April to May 2023. The report outlines the recorded human rights violations by the fact-finding groups led by the Defender in the Tegh community of Syunik, as well as in the upper and lower Shorja, Kut, Norabak, Sotk, and Kutakan communities of the enlarged Vardenis community in Gegharkunik.

Azerbaijani armed forces, positioned directly near the border villages of Syunik and Gegharkunik, periodically carry out aggressive actions. They frequently fire shots, create tension among the population, disrupt peaceful living conditions, and conduct actions that complicate the lives of civilians. Between March and April 2023, Azerbaijani armed forces were stationed just a few hundred meters away from the houses of the residents of Tegh. Moreover, on April 11, they demonstrated aggressive behavior near the settlement, shooting towards nearby Armenian positions and using heavy caliber weapons, posing a real threat to the lives and health of the people. These shootings resulted in the deaths of 4 Armenian servicemen protecting civilians, with 6 others sustaining varying degrees of injuries.

The fact-finding activities have documented that the Azerbaijani armed forces operate with the same intention and methodology along the border villages of Syunik and Gegharkunik. In particular, they intimidate residents by displaying weapons, firing near communities, targeting residential windows with spotlights at night, and using drones in the airspace of communities.

Azerbaijani military have dug trenches and are stationed in pastures belonging to residents, preventing them from exercising their property rights and thereby earning their livelihoods. Furthermore, Azerbaijani soldiers have dug trenches in agricultural fields, damaging wheat and barley crops and preventing people from approaching their lands, intimidating residents with gunfire and weapons display.

The Human Rights Defender plans to forward the urgent report to state bodies of the Republic of Armenia as well as to international organizations.