Lider TV, Azerbaijan
June 11 2009
Three more Armenian soldiers cross into Azerbaijan
Three more Armenian soldiers cross into Azerbaijan. The Armenian
soldiers had defected from a regiment stationed in Martuni region of
Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Nagornyy Karabakh.
The report quoted the three men as saying that they had decided to
cross into the Azerbaijani side due to poor conditions in the army and
mistreatment by senior officers. It quoted them as saying that they
had been conscripted in Armenia and sent to do their military service
in Karabakh. It said that they wanted to be sent to a third country.
The report showed three men dressed in camouflage being interviewed by
a journalist. They were speaking in Armenian with overlaid Azerbaijani
translation. At the end of the report they were shown saying in
Armenian – "We do not want to go back to Armenia."
That is the second incident in June when Armenian soldiers crossed
into Azerbaijan.
On 1 June, Azeri and Armenian media reported that two Armenian
soldiers went AWOL in Nagornyy Karabakh and crossed into Azerbaijan.