Today Azerbaijani servicemen stole three horned animals from the minor son of a shepherd in Khnatsakh village and impeded the wheat harvest in Tegh village. This is stated in the statement issued by the Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan, who wrote the following:

“The Human Rights Defender of Armenia today received two reports about violations of the rights of residents of Khnatsakh and Tegh villages of Syunik Province of Armenia by Azerbaijani servicemen. 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 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.”