Azerbaijani servicemen are setting fire not only to the pastures and hayfields belonging to Armenian villagers in Gegharkunik Province, but also to the hay that villagers have stored for the winter season, Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan said in a statement on Tuesday.

“For example, on August 31, at around 5pm, one of the residents of the village of Kut reported that he had a hayfield of 4-5 hectares and had made around 500 hay bales. The fire was just 4-5 meters away from the hay bales,” the ombudsman said, adding once the fires are extinguished, the Azerbaijanis set new fires.

According to the residents of the villages of Sotk and Kut, the fires set near the villages by the Azerbaijani forces still on 29 August continue to further spread and are already reaching the villages. Many areas, where there is fire, cannot even be reached since the Azeri soldiers start shooting, Tatoyan said.

“The firefighting work is carried out by rescuers, with support of local residents. However, it is not possible to use the appropriate equipment in all affected areas, as the fire is spreading in high terrain which is difficult to reach. The weather conditions make the spread of fires easier. Studies have shown that only the fire near Sotk was successfully extinguished during the day,” the ombudsman said.

“As a result of the Azerbaijani servicemen’s actions, pastures and hayfields belonging to civilians are being destroyed, people are being deprived of their source of income, which in turn contributes to the increase of their social problems.

“Given that the Azerbaijani armed forces have intruded and are stationed in the immediate vicinity of the villages in the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, the fires pose a real threat to the life and property of the civilian population,” reads the statement.