STEPANAKERT. - Colonel Jalal Harutyunyan, who is Deputy Commander of the Mountain Rifle Division of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) Defense Army, considers the dissemination of false information on his death as a result of the Azerbaijani artillery strikes as another manifestation of attempting to destabilize the situation.  

“This is indicative of the fact that any military success by the adversary is based on mere lie and falsification,” Jalal Harutyunyan said.

According to the Colonel, during the intelligence-gathering and sabotage infiltration attempt in a northeasterly direction of the border on Friday, the adversary was pushed back as a result of equivalent actions, causing casualties on their side.

“The subdivisions subject to unification are completely combat ready, fully control the situation and are ready to give an adequate response to any encroachment of the adversary,” Harutyunyan said.

Earlier, the Azerbaijani propaganda had released a video on the “triumphant actions” by its armed forces. It also alleged that, as a result of their artillery strikes, the NKR Defense Army suffered numerous casualties, including Colonel Jalal Harutyunyan.

However, the NKR Ministry of Defense (MOD) officially announced that this “information” by Azerbaijan had nothing to do with reality. 

The adversary launched yet another intelligence-gathering and sabotage infiltration attempt Friday at around 4:30am, in a northeasterly direction (Talish) of the Line of Contact between the Karabakh-Azerbaijani opposing forces.

Vanguard units of the NKR Defense Army, however, detected this advance by the special units of the Azerbaijan army, and they pushed them back to their starting positions, also causing them casualties. 

NKR Defense Army serviceman Erik Grigoryan (born in 1995) was killed during the skirmish.