Armenia’s Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan and his Artsakh counterpart Gegham Stepanyan visited the communities of Taghavard, Karmir Shuka, Aghavno, Khramot and others in Artsakh to collect facts about the crimes committed by the Azerbaijani military against the civilian population.

In a statement summing up the fact-finding mission carried out on February 14-16, Tatoyan says the villages of Taghavard and Karmir Shuka come under Azerbaijani gunfire almost every single day, as a result of which the houses of local residents are damaged.

“Just few days ago, on February 11, Azerbaijani forces opened fire at houses of civilians, damaging walls and roofs of the buildings. Women and children were inside the houses at the time of the shooting. The bullets hit the window of one of the houses, where young children were asleep,” the ombudsman said.

"Azerbaijani soldiers are stationed in close proximity to houses in these communities, at a distance of several hundred meters, and people are fully in their sight,” Tatoyan noted.

Moreover, the ombudsman says the school in Taghavard is under the full observation of the Azerbaijani military.

“Private meetings and discussions with teachers and students revealed that the school also comes under targeted shootings. Moreover, residents said that in Taghavard and Karmir Shuka the Azerbaijani troops are releasing special lights from their positions or vehicles on civilian homes, including inside houses, to terrorize the residents. This frequently happens especially at night or in the evening,” the statement says.

Tatoyan underlines that the Azerbaijani military is constantly preventing the villagers from carrying out agricultural work, opening fire at them, stealing their animals and creating very serious social problems for them.

All this is systematic and has far-reaching plans. The Azerbaijani troops stationed near civilian settlements do everything to create an atmosphere of despair and hopelessness.

“All facts show that the criminal actions of the Azerbaijani servicemen against the civilian population in both Armenia and in Artsakh are identical, with aggressive manifestations in Artsakh.

“It is clear to us that all this stems from the continuous policy of Armenophobia and incitement of enmity towards Armenia and Artsakh by the Azerbaijani authorities,” the ombudsman stated.