Oct 10 2021
Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry denied claims by the de facto Republic of Artsakh that Azerbaijani soldiers had shot and killed a civilian in the Nagorno-Karabakh region on Saturday.
The police force of the Republic of Artsakh reported on Saturday that Aram Tepnants, a 55-year-old resident of Martakert in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, was shot by a sniper from the Azerbaijan Armed Forces while driving a tractor in an agricultural area.
The Foreign Ministry of the republic strongly condemned the alleged shooting, saying it was aimed at "creating an atmosphere of fear among the peaceful population of the Republic of Artsakh and emigration of Armenians from the country."
The Republic of Artsakh is a de facto republic internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Last year, the area in which the republic sits was recaptured by Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh war against Armenia.