Digest, 17.12.2020: Bodies of 41 more fallen soldiers retrieved, Hin Shen fillage of Artsakh unblocked

Armenian News -NEWS.am presents the daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 17.12.2020:

• Bodies of 41 more fallen soldiers were retrieved Wednesday.

The servicemen were from Horadiz and Jabrayil.

The search started on November 13, and 933 bodies have been retrieved so far.

He noted that in many areas, however, the Azerbaijanis were canceling the pre-planned search operation and another obstacle was the cold weather, which was complicating the work of rescuers.

The parents of the missing servicemen are also taking part in the search, while the Russian peacekeepers are assisting in the negotiation process and are the escorting party.

• Artsakh Public TV informs that the Azerbaijani outpost was managed to be removed from the road and to unblock Hin Shen village of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

The Azerbaijani forces tried to put pressure on the Armenian side by setting up an outpost on the road leading to Hin Shen sub-region of Berdadzor village. But as a result of the intervention of the Russian peacekeeping troops, late last night this Azerbaijani outpost was managed to be removed from the road and to unblock Hin Shen.

• Armenian Kapan town military positions will be handed over to Azerbaijan by 5pm Friday.

As a result, Kapan will become defenseless, Kapan Mayor Gevorg Parsyan noted.

The Ministry of Defense has issued an order to hand over to the enemy, by 5pm tomorrow, all the positions we held for the defense of Kapan," the mayor said.

Asked whether there were negotiations on handing over these military positions, Parsyan said: "I suppose there were negotiations, but, at least we did not participate in those negotiations."

• Russian border guards will be deployed in some parts of the Syunik Province border.

Within the framework of his working visit to Syunik Province, Armenia’s Minister of Defense Vagharshak Harutyunyan met with the officers of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, touched upon the monitoring of the Goris-Stepanakert motorway, the program of deploying Russian border guards in the Syunik section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

He also discussed the search for those who have gone missing as a result of the recent Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war, and the future courses of action.

• Shots were heard during Thursday’s protest in Kapan, Armenia.

The people who have blocked the road fled here and there.

It is not yet clear what shots were fired.

For the past several hours, numerous residents of Syunik Province have closed off the road nearby the Kapan airport, as they are concerned about the security of the borders and demand a respective meeting with the relevant bodies.

Meanwhile, the March of Dignity kicked off in Yerevan on Thursday, demanding the resignation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

And on Saturday, the Homeland Salvation movement will organize a large rally on Freedom Square in Yerevan. Strikes and disobedience actions will also be held throughout Armenia from noon on December 22.

• The situation was out of control, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a briefing, when asked why the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh had resumed right now.

"That tension lasted for many years. I don’t think it happened because of any outside interference. There have been repeated clashes, shootings, and small confrontations. And ultimately, it all turned into a conflict," Putin added.

The leader also noted that they "have been of position that 7 regions being kept around Karabakh should be returned to Azerbaijan."

"The actual status of Nagorno-Karabakh shall remain unchanged," he added.

• Robert Kocharyan on Thursday left for Moscow on a three-day private visit, the office of the second President of Armenia reported.

• Shushan Petrosyan, a famous Armenian singer and an ex-MP, was being apprehended.

No one had called her to the police in advance or informed her in any way that there were questions for her.

On Thursday afternoon she left the police station along with Ruben Melikyan, co-founder of the Legal Path NGO of Armenia.