At least 198 soldiers and 25 civilian residents of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) were killed during last September’s Azerbaijani military offensive that enabled Baku to recapture the region, according to a senior Armenian official.
Five children were among the casualties, Argishti Kyaramian, the head of Armenia’s Investigative Committee, told Armenian Public Television late on Thursday. He said that five other civilians and 15 Karabakh Armenian soldiers went missing during the 24-hour hostilities that broke out on September 19.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry has acknowledged around 200 combat deaths among its military personnel involved in the operation. Its troops greatly outnumbered and outgunned Karabakh’s small army that received no military support from Armenia. Karabakh’s leadership agreed to disband the Defense Army in return for Baku stopping the assault and allowing the region’s ethnic Armenian residents to flee to Armenia.
More than 100,000 Karabakh Armenians, the region’s virtually entire remaining population, left their homeland in the space of a week. The hundreds of cars, buses and trucks carrying them caused a massive traffic jam on a 50-kilometer road leading to Armenia.
It reportedly took most refugees at least 30 hours to reach the Armenian border. According to the Investigative Committee, 64 of them died during the arduous journey due to a lack of medicine, medical aid and food.
The exodus began amid chaotic scenes inside Karabakh blamed for a massive explosion and fire at a fuel depot outside Stepanakert on September 25. The blast left at least 218 people dead. Videos posted on social media showed hundreds of cars parked near the depot, waiting to fuel up and head to Armenia.
The Armenian authorities maintain that Karabakh’s depopulation is the result of “ethnic cleansing” carried out by Azerbaijan. In October, Armenia’s human rights ombudswoman, Anahit Manasian, accused Azerbaijani troops of committing war crimes during the assault.
“There are many bodies, including of civilians, transported from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia that carry signs of torture and/or mutilation,” Manasian told reporters.
Baku denies forcing Karabakh residents to flee their homes and says the Azerbaijani army did not target civilians during its offensive condemned by the United States and the European Union.
Source: Azatutyun.am
