The Defense Army of the Artsakh Republic commented Wednesday on the footage circulated in Azerbaijani social media, showing bodies of six Armenian servicemen, killed as claimed by the Azerbaijani side near Hakaku village of the occupied Hadrut region of Artsakh.
The Defense Army reiterated its statement made on December 28 that no unit and serviceman of the Artsakh Army participated in a military action, no emergency incident was recorded and not a single shot was fired from the Armenian side on December 27, the day before and after. It added that the ceasefire regime has been strictly observed across the entire length of the contact line.
"Moreover, it is obvious, that Azerbaijan speaks of fighting occured deep inside the territories under its control and a village which is quite far from the frontline, where Defense Army servicemen could reach only through crossing the frontline and moving in the enemy's rear. Considering the presence of Azerbaijani armed forces in the place, as well as the factor of Russian peacekeepers that was absolutely not possible," the statement said.
The Artsakh Army also pointed to the 'coincidence' that Azerbaijan violated the previously reached agreement and didn't allow on Tuesday the search and rescue units to enter the territories where alleged fighting had taken place.
"This is stated despite the fact, that the agreement for the rescue units to conduct search operations in those territories was reached on December 27 – on the day when according to Azerbaijani claims the fighting took place," the statement said, adding: "When confronting these facts, we come to an assumption that the actions and statements of the Azerbaijani side aim to hush up another war crime and the actual refusal to allow the rescue unit to enter the area served that purpose."
It added that active works are underway to identify the people shown in the video. "The Defense Army does not exclude that we are dealing with a brutal murder of people who had been taken hostage in Azerbaijan earlier. We strictly condemn the actions of the Azerbaijani side which go against the logic of the November 9 trilateral statement. The Artsakh Republic will be consistent in revealing the war crimes committed by Azerbaijan," the statement concluded.