In response to the recent shelling of Armenian villages in Artsakh (also known Nagorno-Karabakh) by Azerbaijan, Los Angeles Councilmember Paul Krekorian and other elected officials joined with Armenian-American civic and religious leaders to make a call for peace in the Caucasus region, where violence by Azerbaijan’s government has taken dozens of innocent lives in recent days.

L.A. City Councilman Paul Krekorian told that the vigil was meant to call for peace and to denounce what he described as the “outrageous militarization and vicious attacks” by Azerbaijan against those living in the Artsakh region.

“They have routinely violated the ceasefire since 1994, but this last week has seen a dramatic escalation of that,” Krekorian said. “It’s outrageous, it’s unjustifiable, and it should be denounced by the entire international community.”

Krekorian said that peace in the region is in the interests of the United States and that these attacks may constitute war crimes.

“So that’s why we are putting together this vigil, and that’s why we’re going to continue to demand action from our own government in Washington to ensure that we bring peace back to this region,” Krekorian said.