Four Casualties and One Injured on Armenian Side are Members of Volunteer Union

On February 13, as a result of Azerbaijani gunfire directed at the Armenian positions in Nerkhin Hand, four casualties and one injured from the Armenian side are members of the "Union of Volunteer Defenders" (UVD), the head of the National Assembly's Defense Committee, Andranik Kocharyan, told Azatutyun.

According to Kocharyan, the situation is currently stable. The Defense Committee Chairman provided some details: "The volunteers were carrying out certain guard duties when a situation arose that led to gunfire, resulting in casualties and injuries. As for whether the gunfire was necessary or not, an investigation will yield answers to that question."

Kocharyan also reported that the casualties range in age from 40 to 67 years. The Ministry of Defense will publish the list of the deceased later.

Beginning at 05:30 this morning, Azerbaijani armed forces units opened fire using small arms towards the Armenian positions stationed in the Nerkhin Hand area. Preliminary reports indicated that the Armenian side had reported two casualties and injuries. As of 09:30, the fire had ceased.

Baku reported that they conducted an operation dubbed "Retribution" in response to what they described as provocations by Armenian armed forces yesterday.

Yesterday, the Azerbaijani side claimed that Armenian armed forces opened fire in the direction of the Zangilan region's positions, asserting that as a result of the gunfire, an Azerbaijani border guard was injured. Yerevan responded by stating that they are investigating the reports of gunfire by Armenian guards.