Armenian soldiers had faulty equipment during April escalation

According to Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly, human rights activists made a report on the April events on the contact line between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops following the talks with relatives of those killed. The relatives spoke about the problems on the contact line, in particular the shortage of ammunition and faulty military equipment, the report said.

Relatives of a serviceman, who died April 2, attribute the casualties to the insufficient quantity of arms and ammunition.

Relatives of a soldier killed in Azerbaijan’s Jabrayil District occupied by Armenia went to the place of the soldier’s death and learned that none of those who served there survived, as they were not ready and did not have sufficient weapons, the report added.

The dead soldier’s family believes that the soldiers were deliberately left without the necessary ammunition.

There were many disabled tanks on the way, most of them had water instead of fuel and the engines outwore after they were started, reads the report.

The soldier’s colleagues met with his relatives and said they had a lot to tell. However, they could not talk about it while serving.

Other relatives say the soldiers did not get orders and they did not know what to do during the Azerbaijani troops’ counterattack.

On the night of April 2, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from the Armenian side, which used large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers. The firing resulted in deaths and injuries among the Azerbaijani population.

Azerbaijan responded with a counterattack, which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements.

Military operations were stopped on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian armies on Apr. 5 at 12:00 (UTC/GMT + 4) with the consent of the sides, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry had said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.