Human Rights Defender of Armeniacalls on int`l actors to take  immediate measures to stop mass crimes in Artsakh

ArmInfo.Since September 19, the Azerbaijani armed forces have been shelling the civilian  settlements of Nagorno-Karabakh, targeting the civilian population and infrastructure, such as residential buildings, schools, etc. TThis is stated in a statement by Human Rights Defender of Armenia Anahit Manasyan.

She notes that Azerbaijani armed forces use large-caliber weapons,  including artillery, against the civilian population. In accordance  with the information registered in the Human Rights Defender's  office, as a result of shelling, there are currently 32 dead and more  than 200 wounded people, including 7 dead (2 children) and 35 wounded  (13 children) among the civilian population. As a result of  Azerbaijani aggression, buildings, cars and houses were damaged.

In the early morning of September 20, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces  opened fire on the ambulance of Stepanakert, which was on its way to  Martakert Province in order to transport the bodies of eight people  who died as a result of the Azerbaijani attack. According to the  information spread by open sources, the Azerbaijani armed forces also  opened fire on the vehicles of the Russian peacekeepers, when the  latter attempted to evacuate women and children from Nagorno Karabakh  through the Lachin Corridor, by the Hakari Bridge. These facts come  to confirm that the armed forces of Azerbaijan aim to complete the  ethnic cleansing of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh. The  Office of the Human Rights Defender also monitors the Azerbaijani  press and social networks, as a result of which a large number of  posts targeting the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh on the  basis of ethnic origin, promoting and justifying hatred and violence  by the users of social networks were recorded.

The Defender states that such an intolerant attitude of the society  of Azerbaijan is the consequence and proof of the armenophobic policy  of the Azerbaijani authorities. The Human Rights Defender especially  emphasizes that Azerbaijani aggression grossly violates the  principles of international law and international humanitarian law.  The Defender calls on international organizations and actors with a  mandate of human rights protection to give an appropriate assessment  to Azerbaijani actions and to take immediate measures to stop mass  crimes.