YEREVAN. – At around 1:20pm on October 9, Aram Tepnants (born in 1966) a resident of Martakert, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), was wounded in the chest and died on the spot while operating a tractor on the arable land of the city—and from a shot fired from an Azerbaijani military position located approximately one kilometer away.

Prior to the start of this agricultural work—and in consideration of this area being near the border with Azerbaijan—, Russian peacekeepers had arrived at the site to ensure the safety of the agricultural work, the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

According to preliminary information, Tepnants initially did not want to operate this tractor. But a Russian peacekeeper offered to sit with him in person in the cabin as an additional guarantee of safety. According to eyewitnesses, they made several rounds that way.

On the same day, a criminal case was filed under the Artsakh Criminal Code article on "Murder committed by the motives of national, racial or religious hatred or religious fanaticism." An investigation is underway.

After the incident, the agricultural work was stopped not only in that, but also in other border areas.

The information on the killing of an Artsakh civilian by the Azerbaijani armed forces—and with a gross violation of the ceasefire—has been passed on to the representatives of the Russian Prosecutor General's Office representatives in Artsakh.

The Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia will be consistent in the investigation of the murder of this Artsakh resident and Azerbaijan’s gross violation of the ceasefire.