YEREVAN. – The Ministry of Defense of Armenia (MOD) reaffirmed that on Sunday, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR/Artsakh) and Azerbaijan conducted, through the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Office of the Personal Representative to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Chairperson-in-Office, an exchange of the bodies of the soldiers who died during the aggression which Azerbaijan unleashed between April 2 and 5.

During this exchange, the bodies of 18 servicemen of the NKR Defense Army were transferred to the Armenian side.

The Armenian MOD press service stated that, the fact of torture and abuse of the bodies transferred to the Armenian side, and which the NKR competent authorities and the ICRC representatives have recorded,  this is  a most blatant violation of the norms of international humanitarian law, and which the NKR State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons has specified.

The NKR and Armenia authorities, in cooperation with international organizations, are collecting evidence on crimes, and based on which, criminal cases are initiated.

Also, the MOD of Armenia formally announced that Azerbaijan’s violations of the international humanitarian (armed conflict) law and of various conventions will be consistently voiced in all international tribunals, with the ultimate objective of bringing Azerbaijan to legal account.