Ombudsman: Indiscriminate attacks by Azerbaijani armed forces against  children must be strongly condemned by the international community

ArmInfo. On the morning of October 14, at about 09:00, the Azerbaijani armed forces attacked with an unmanned aerial vehicle in the direction of the civilian  settlement (community) of Sotk near the city of Vardenis in the  Gegharkunik region of Armenia, as a result of which a resident of the  city of Vardenis, 14-year-old child N. A., who is now in the  intensive care unit of the hospital. This is stated in the official  statement of the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia  Arman Tatoyan.

It is reported that at the time of the drone attacks, other  civilians, including children, were also present in the agricultural  fields for the seasonal potato harvest. The head of the local  administration and local residents confirmed this information to the  Human Rights Defender of Armenia.  According to the source, on the  same day, the Ombudsman sent a special working group of employees,  including a doctor, to Surb Astvatsamayr hospital in order to  establish the facts. During the visit, private interviews were held  with the affected child, his father and medical staff. In addition,  some issues were discussed with the leader of the local community.

The working group found that in the early morning of October 14, a  child, his 16-year-old sibling, and his father drove to the family's  agricultural field to harvest a seasonal potato crop and heard drone  noise shortly thereafter. According to the child, at the time of the  drone strikes, they began to run, but the drone strikes hit exactly  where they were standing. "This fact especially confirms the criminal  intent of the Azerbaijani armed forces to target and illegally take  the lives of civilians," the message says.

According to the injured child, he and his older brother are  currently unable to attend school as all schools in Vardenis and  neighboring areas are closed due to ongoing air attacks by the  Azerbaijani armed forces.  According to the doctors of the Surb  Astvatsamayr Medical Center, the child's health is now assessed as  serious. In particular, he has right-sided pneumothorax, left-sided  penetrating hemopneumothorax, blunt abdominal trauma, subcapsular  hematoma of the spleen, and a splinter in the soft tissue on the  right. The child was also reported to have had blood loss.

The Human Rights Defender, being an independent national human rights  body, as well as a body monitoring the implementation of the  provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, strongly  condemns the targeted attacks by the Azerbaijani armed forces on  civilians, including children, which leads to gross violations of  children's rights and absolute disregard for the fundamental  requirements of international law.

<International human rights organizations, and especially  organizations for the protection of children's rights, must take  urgent measures to properly assess such cases, and also to prevent  their occurrence in the future.

The indiscriminate attacks of the Azerbaijani armed forces against  children must be firmly condemned by the international community,  "the source says.