YEREVAN. – The Office of the Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) of Armenia has received calls from the residents of Kut, Norabak, Verin and Nerkin Shorzha villages of Gegharkunik Province, in connection with Azerbaijan’s provocation yesterday on the border with Armenia, ombudsman Arman Tatoyan told a press conference Wednesday.
"We are in touch with everyone. Residents heard the sound of artillery," the ombudsman added.
Tatoyan stressed that Azerbaijan is launching aggressive actions in the Armenian territories which it invaded in May last year.
But the same time, the ombudsman noted that this invasion had taken place earlier, in October 2020, during the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war, in the direction of Tsav village near Kapan city of Syunik Province.
"Therefore, we need to talk about the Azerbaijanis’ invading the sovereign territory of Armenia, and globally, the need for the withdrawal of Azerbaijani forces, and not only about the 'May invasion,'" Tatoyan said.
The ombudsman reiterated that the presence of Azerbaijani military near Armenian villages has no legal basis, especially since they appeared there under the threat of a new war. He added that when the ombudsman speaks about this, the respective statements should not be distorted.
"Yesterday's actions are proof of that. They [i.e., the Azerbaijani military] are so close that the [Armenian] civilian population hears the sound of artillery. There is no time. Events are developing rapidly. The longer we delay, the more the rights of the [Armenian] residents will be violated," Arman Tatoyan concluded.