Azerbaijani soldiers steal three cattle from an Armenian shepherd’s 13-year-old son in Syunik’s Khnatsakh village, not allowing him to gather the harvested wheat, informs Arman Tatoyan, the Human Rights Defender of Armenia in a Facebook post.
Arman Tatoyan’s full statement runs as follows,
“The Human Rights Defender of Armenia received two reports of a violation of the rights of the residents of Khnatsakh and Tegh villages in Armenia’s Syunik by Azerbaijani soldiers. Based on the reports,
Based on the reports, on July 6, 2021, the shepherd of Khnatsakh village grazed 40 large horned animals belonging to two families of the villages with the help of his 13-year-old son. At around 6-6:30 am, three of the animals approached the place where Azerbaijani armed forces are deployed. The son was near the animals and tried to not let them approach the Azerbaijani military post. However, the Azerbaijani soldiers moved forward, screamed and showed them that it was allegedly their territory, stole the animals and drove them away.
According to established data, the shepherd immediately informed the head of the enlarged Tegh community. After receiving the alarm, the head of the village immediately contacted the first army corps of the Armed Forces of Armenia and Russian peacekeepers, and only after some actions was it possible to return the animals to the shepherd.
The other incident concerns violation of the rights of the residents of Tegh village. In particular, the residents went to the area near the village with agricultural machinery to harvest their wheat, but the Azerbaijani soldiers didn’t let them harvest the wheat.
The Office of the Human Rights Defender verified the reports of the villages’ residents after discussions with the head and residents of Tegh village. These criminal acts of the Azerbaijani servicemen are aimed at depriving civilians of Armenia of the right to life, property and other vital rights, as well as to raise cattle and earn a living. All this needs to be considered intention since the Azerbaijani soldiers regularly commit such acts against the residents of the villages of Gegharkunik and Syunik Provinces.
These acts are not only a blatant security issue for the residents of Armenia’s borderline villages, but also contribute to the deepening of social issues.
These incidents show again that it is necessary to create a buffer zone to protect the population of Armenia from the criminal acts of the Azerbaijani armed forces.”
