While the country signed earlier this week a decried peace agreement with Azerbaijan, Armenia admitted on Saturday November 14 that it had lost more than 2,300 soldiers in the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. The region has been the scene of violent clashes for six weeks as Azerbaijan regains control of large territories there thanks to the ceasefire. This heavy toll represents nearly double the losses previously announced by Yerevan in this conflict, in addition to 50 Armenian civilians killed since the resumption of hostilities with Baku in early September for the control of this mountainous enclave of the Caucasus.
“At present, the bodies of 2,317 killed soldiers, including unidentified bodies, have been taken in by the forensic examination service,” the spokesperson for the Armenian Ministry of Justice said on Facebook. Health, Alina Nikoghosian. According to her, the process of exchanging bodies with Azerbaijan has only just begun. “The belligerents do not have final figures for the moment,” she noted.
Azerbaijan for its part does not communicate its military losses, simply reporting 93 civilians killed by Armenian bombing. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who acts as arbiter in the region, said on Friday that the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh had left more than 4,000 victims and 8,000 injured, as well as tens of thousands of refugees.
Anger of Armenians over the ceasefire
Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a ceasefire agreement ending the conflict earlier this week, sponsored by Moscow. This text enshrines the significant territory gains obtained by Azerbaijan, and provides for the return to Baku of additional territories. Russian peacekeepers were deployed this week to the conflict zone to ensure the truce is maintained.
The announcement of the deal was followed by angry protests in Yerevan, where protesters briefly took over the seat of government and parliament. The opposition demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pachinian. As a symbol of this humiliating setback, Armenians preferred to burn their house down rather than have it fall into the hands of Azerbaijani forces on the eve of their expected arrival in some areas.
A journalist from Agence France-Presse saw residents set fire to their homes on Saturday morning in the village of Charektar, in the border area with Nagorno-Karabakh which Azerbaijani troops are due to take control of on Sunday. The inhabitants took all the things they could before they left.
2,000 Russian troops deployed
“It’s the last day, tomorrow the Azerbaijani soldiers will be there,” said a soldier before setting his house on fire. “We were waiting to be fixed. But when they started to dismantle the hydroelectric station, we understood, ”says another inhabitant of the village. “Everyone is going to burn their house down today (…) We have been given until midnight to leave. ”
On Friday, Russian peacekeepers entered Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno Karabakh, and controlled its approaches and the nearby front line. In total, nearly 2,000 soldiers from Moscow are to be mobilized with armored vehicles and special vehicles.
While waiting for the full deployment of Russian forces, and the reopening of the Lachin corridor, an umbilical cord connecting Armenia to the enclave, the only access route to Nagorno-Karabakh is the road passing through the north of the enclave, by the Kalbajar district, which is to be handed over to Azerbaijan on Sunday.
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