Monday, March 21 2022 20:56

ArmInfo. The Armenian Defense Ministry continues to refute the fact of the invasion and advancement of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces into the country in the direction of  the village of Nerkin Khand of the Syunik region of the Republic of  Armenia, and justify the actions of enemy forces in this area.

Thus, in a video prepared by "Zinuzh Midia" and published on the  website of the RA Ministry of Defense, it is assured that these  territories of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, located in a dense  wooded area, which, according to Soviet maps (it is not specified  which ones exactly - ed. note), are within 600 meters of the  territory RA came under the control of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces  last spring. At the same time, it is assured that immediately after  that, fortification work began, however, due to the fact that these  positions were unsuitable for winter service, the Armed Forces of the  Republic of Azerbaijan left them for the winter period, and with the  improvement of weather conditions they returned and began to place  tents.

"That is, it's out of the question of new advances. Moreover, there  are allegations that the residents of the village of Nerkin Khand are  in the zone of direct observation of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces,  which endangers the life of the population of this community.  However, in fact there are two villages in this area.  Old Nerkin  Khand, where no one lives and New Nerkin Khand, which is located at a  distance of 2 km from the Azerbaijani positions. In addition, there  are several heights that exclude observation of the village from the  Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan," the RA Ministry of  Defense assured, assuring that there are also the Armenian Armed  Forces are serving, which excludes the advance of the enemy. In the  end, they called on the media to take only official information as a  basis and publish it only to avoid speculation.  Thus, the Defense  Ministry seems to have decided to justify itself by saying that the  advance of the enemy forces did not take place in March of this year,  but last year, it's just that the Armenian society was not properly  informed about this and now there is no point in worrying about it.

It is noteworthy that the press service of the Human rights Defender  of Armenia today reported that the working group of the HRD, sent to  the Syunik region - the village of Nerkin Khand, carried out urgent  work to collect facts.

"The fact-finding working group during a visit to the Nerkin Khand  settlement met with the administrative head and residents, on the  spot studied the territories adjacent to the cemetery, the monument  to the victims of the Great Patriotic War and the village, and  documented the issues of realizing the rights of residents.  Based on  the results of conversations and discussions, it was established that  the deployment of the Azerbaijani military on a hill near the village  in early March 2022, including the installation of several tents and  rear roads behind their positions, are new. Earlier, residents in  these territories did not notice the Azerbaijani military or  positions, claiming that they were gathering Moreover, according to  residents, the first Azerbaijani military was noticed by a shepherd.  In the current situation, it is important to state that the main  occupation of the inhabitants of Nerkin Khand is animal husbandry and  agriculture.  As a result of the emergence of a new position of the  Azerbaijani Armed Forces, the cemetery of the settlement, the  Monument to the Victims of the Great Patriotic War, the church, as  well as most of the pastures of the village - about 50 hectares, as  well as arable land and gardens of several peasants were under direct  gunpoint and observation. For the villagers engaged in cattle  breeding and agriculture, this situation has created serious  difficulties for their livelihoods. Despite the fact that there is no  panic in the village, the villagers are in an uncertain state due to  the current situation.   The working group also stated that on March 16, 2022, in the village  of Nerkin Khand, the governor of Syunik and representatives of the  commanding staff of the Defense Ministry met with the residents. In  addition, these days the head of the Kapan community and his deputies  met periodically with the residents.  During the visit, the working  group also met with the head of the Kapan community, the regional  administration of Syunik and other competent officials. The results  and conclusions of the visit of the representatives of the HRD, as  well as proposals for solving the noted and other problems, were sent  to the government. The Armenian HRD will continue to monitor the  solution of the problems of the residents of the border settlements,  including the residents of the village of Nerkin Khand," the RA HRD  said in a statement.  It should be noted that on March 15,  information was disseminated in the Armenian media that the enemy had  again advanced deep into the sovereign territory of the Republic of  Armenia. Armenian resources, citing the head of the administration of  the village of Nerkin Khand Khachatur Baghdasaryan and residents of  the village, reported that in the period from March 3 to March 5, the  armed forces of Azerbaijan advanced about a kilometer and set up  tents near the village of Nerkin Khand of the enlarged community of  Kapan in the Syunik region. It was noted that from the position of  the Azerbaijani side, a rural cemetery, as well as sources of  drinking water are visible, Nerkin Khanda pastures are located in  this area, residents are afraid to engage in agricultural work there. 

It was also indicated that the RA Ministry of Defense is familiar  with the situation and also set up a post in this area.  The Ministry  of Defense stated that this message is misinformation, assuring that  these are the positions of the Azerbaijani side . According to the  Armenian Defense Ministry, these positions are not equipped for the  winter period, and the Azerbaijani Armed Forces returned there due to  the arrival of spring. Meanwhile, it is snowing all over Armenia, a  number of roads, including those of interstate importance, are  closed, and there is no need to talk about improving weather  conditions. It is also hard to imagine that the inhabitants of this  community did not notice these positions for 1.5 years and only now  they have had an insight. And former HRD of Armenia Arman Tatoyan, in  turn, laying out evidence of the adversary's advance of at least 750  meters in this direction, stated that after signing the tripartite  statement, the enemy had already invaded the territory of the  Republic of Armenia in 4 directions