HCA Vanadzor office points to increased deaths in the army due to  health problems of military personnel

ArmInfo.The Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly summarized data on deaths of military personnel in the Armed Forces of Armenia and Artsakh in the first  quarter of 2020. According to the analyzed data from the media and  official sources, in the first quarter of this year, 16 deaths were  recorded in the armed forces of Armenia and Artsakh.

Five of them are conscripts, seven are contract soldiers, four are officers. Of these  incidents, 5 occurred as a result of suicide or bringing to suicide,  5- health problems, 4 - accidents, 1 - as a result of a ceasefire  violation, 1 - car accident. Moreover, from the indicated 16 cases,  official information was provided only for 12, and the HCA Vanadzor  office found out about the remaining four cases from the media or  unofficial sources.  In the first quarter of 2020, compared with the  same period last year, 3 more deaths were recorded. Of the 13 deaths  recorded in the first quarter of 2019, 5 were due to road accidents,  3 due to health problems, 3 murders, 1 due to suicide or bringing to  suicide and 1 as a result of an accident. It is indicated that during  the indicated period of 2020, one death was recorded in combat  conditions, while in the first quarter of 2019 there were no similar  fatal incidents as a result of a ceasefire violation. The Vanadzor  Office of the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly also notes a sharp increase  in the number of suicides in January-February 2020, which has already  caused a wide public outcry. 

The HCA Vanadzor office notes that an increase in army deaths  recorded in 2020 due to a state of health indicates the existing  problems associated with proper medical examination, monitoring and  assistance before a conscript is sent to military service.  In the  first quarter of 2020, the vast majority of deaths - about 94% -  occurred in non-combat conditions. On the facts of 13 of the  aforementioned 16 lethal incidents, criminal cases were instituted in  the army, and all of them are at the preliminary investigation stage.