Thursday, January 19 2023 15:01
Marianna Mkrtchyan

Tragic loss of Armenian soldiers; Unanswered questions

Tragic loss of Armenian soldiers; Unanswered questions

ArmInfo.In this story, it is unclear why and under what circumstances 15 soldiers stayed in the burning shelter and turned into ashes. Taguhi Tovmasyan, tanding  Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs , wrote.

"And why is the hypothesis of a drone attack on Azat border excluded?  There are a lot of question marks ...  sorry for our soldiers ...  On  January 19, at about 01:30, a fire broke out in the shelter of the  engineer-sapper company of the Nth military unit of the RA Ministry  of Defense, located in the territory of the village of Azat,  Gegharkunik region, under circumstances that have not yet been  established. According to preliminary data, 15 servicemen died as a  result of the fire, the condition of 3 servicemen is serious ,"  Tovmasyan recalled.

In turn, human rights activist Avetik Ishkhanyan, commenting on this  egregious tragic incident that claimed the lives of 18-year-old boys,  noted that treacherous high-ranking officials of Armenia enjoy their  life, with luxurious official cars, state-owned mansions, millions in  bonuses, even business trips abroad.

"The same so-called Minister of Defense, who, after the attack of the  enemy in September with hundreds of victims, continued his wild life.  And the soldier guarding the border in the cold winter, heats the  shelter with an old stove and uses gasoline as fuel. The first person  responsible for 15 victims - this is you, the prime minister, the  second responsible is you, miserable, dishonorable defense minister.  This is not a state, but a mess in the truest sense of the word, "he  summed up.

In turn, blogger Alexander Lapshin, referring to the tragedy with  Armenian soldiers in the military unit in the village of Azat in  Gegharkunik, on the border with Azerbaijan, noted that he had two  questions in this regard.

"I looked at the Google map and found the village of Azat. The  village is clearly abandoned, judging by the picture (I've never been  there myself), and on the right are only residential buildings with  fresh roofs and buildings resembling garages for equipment. This is  probably the same military unit where the soldiers died. If I'm wrong  and this is about another military unit, then correct me. So, the  question arises, how is it possible that just 3 (three) kilometers  from the Azerbaijani positions, the military unit is ordinary  unprotected building.  A hundred times everyone wrote and talked  (including me) about the importance of building protected bunkers and  defense lines - it's useless. The place is shot through not only by  ordinary mortars (not to mention artillery), but even by snipers from  the commanding heights captured by the Azerbaijanis in September  2022. In the event of new clashes on the border, all these soldiers  would die in a few minutes, the Azerbaijanis would cover this  barracks with artillery,"  the blogger noted.

Secondly, according to him, in this case, the soldiers died even  without the participation of the enemy, they simply burned alive in  the barracks. "How is it even possible that 17 young and full of  strength guys could not get out of a small 2-3-story building? Even  if they jumped out of the windows, the jump from the second floor  would not be fatal. It turns out that the windows and doors of the  barracks were blocked? Do I understand correctly that the windows of  the Armenian barracks are closed with bars, and the iron doors are  closed at night so that the soldiers cannot go out? If so, then this  is a gross violation of fire safety rules, not to mention that in the  event of a sudden shelling, soldiers should be able to run out of the  building," he added.

According to Lapshin, if the commanders responsible for this tragedy  do not find themselves in a "closed room with bars on the windows"  for ten years (I can recommend the Nubarashen prison), then it would  be more logical to close the Republic of Armenia project.

"Degenerates have already made comments on Facebook (sorry for being  blunt) that the Russians, the French, some mythical provocateurs and  saboteurs are to blame. " Everyone around is to blame, except for  themselves. "It turns out that foreigners are building Armenian  barracks without any protection from the enemy, it was foreigners who  put bars on the windows so that your soldiers could not escape. No,  it's not your own generals who plunder the budget for the  construction of defensive fortifications, but the French, Russians  and Jews are to blame. Well, as usual. It is very easy to become a  friend for this sofa cavalry that does not tolerate criticism, just  praise the pits on the roads and water, "the second in the world" is  all, you are their friend and brother, "summed up the blogger.,

It is noteworthy that the footage from the scene of the tragedy calls  into question the version that was literally immediately put forward  by the authorities. According to which, they say that the servicemen  used gasoline to kindle a potbelly stove and, due to a violation of  safety rules, burned down. We add that the photo from the place  raises many questions, including about the part of the building in  which the soldiers were stationed. Rhetorical questions arise where  all the money allocated for the army goes, and where are the  notorious ambitious reforms in the Armed Forces of the Republic of  Armenia, about which the current authorities sing so beautifully at  any opportunity 

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