Red Cross Confirms Repatriation of Armenian, Azerbaijani Citizens

The bodies of two Azerbaijani soldiers killed recently and of a person from the village of Madaghis in Nagorno Karabakh were today handed over under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), reads the beginning of an official press release issued by the Geneva-based ICRC.

The rest of the press release reads as follows:

“The operation took place in Bash Gervend, Agdam region, situated on the Line of Contact.

“‘Even though the transfer of bodies is a very sad event, the families of the dead will finally be able to bury and mourn their loved ones properly,’ said Hélène Plennevaux, the head of the ICRC office in Barda, who participated in the operation. ‘We are glad that the handover process in relation to the Nagorny Karabakh conflict has recently been accelerated.’

“Earlier this week, acting as a neutral intermediary and with the agreement of the parties concerned, the ICRC repatriated an Azerbaijani citizen, formerly interned in Armenia, and handed over the body of an Armenian citizen who had died in Baku in October.

“Working under the Geneva Conventions, the ICRC has been operating in the region since 1992, in connection with the Nagorny Karabakh conflict.”

Recall that Azerbaijani media had earlier reported that Armenia was to hand over the bodies of Azerbaijani soldiers Mubariz Ibrahimov and Farid Ahmadov at 4 pm today, in exchange for Republic of Armenia citizen Gavrush Rustamyan.

Oddly enough, no comments or official statements have been made by Armenian authorities.