Residents of Armenia’s Syunik Province actively took part in the recent war in Artsakh, both on the battlefield and in the rear. Syunik suffered heavy and irreversible losses, Gevorg Parsyan, the mayor of the town of Kapan in Syunik, told a discussion in the National Assembly on Friday.
“On October 18, the prime minister convened a meeting with the participation of the heads of communities, during which he suggested that we resort to self-defense. And General Artak Davtyan became the coordinator of the defense of Syunik. We promptly organized ourselves and began defending our settlements. In those days we were alone because we received no support from anyone. Then General Davtyan instructed us to take advantageous positions for us both inside and beyond the borders of Armenia,” the mayor said.
“Thus, we chose a line that was far from our settlements. Fierce battles were fought in David-Bek, in the areas of the central and inner Hand. There were victims, but we did not retreat a single step,” he added.
He recalled that the first point of the trilateral statement signed on November 10 says that the parties remain in the positions they were at the time of signing the statement.
“Naturally, we also remained in our positions, ensuring the safety of our settlements. However, in the morning of December 17, a very unexpected order was issued by the Ministry of Defense that we should leave the occupied lines. This caused serious problems for residents of Kapan. Today we have the following picture: the enemy forces are stationed 100 meters away from our specific settlements, for example, from residential areas of Syunik and 1 km away from residential areas of Kapan. Having ceded our positions, we are faced with a serious problem now, as important heights are controlled by the enemy. For instance, the town of Kapan can be easily targeted by the enemy,” Parsyan noted.
He said that there are numerous problems concerning road safety, particularly in regard to Kapan-Goris, Kapan-Chakaten and Kapan-Agarak roads.
“At present, Kapan-Goris and Kapan-Chakaten roads are functioning, while we no longer use Kapan-Agarak road, which is completely under the control of the enemy, and no decision has yet been made on this matter. Fortunately, we have an alternative route, but it requires major renovation. In winter this road is practically impassable. And because of this, the Agarak people are somewhat in a blockade,” he said.
Parsyan noted that there is anxiety among the townspeople, but there is no panic. Nobody understands what awaits them.
“Our citizens often ask me what comes next. I have no answer to this question, but I believe that we must do everything possible to ensure the safety of our population,” the mayor said.