Azerbaijani POW Sends Letter Home, Says He is Alive and Well

A 22-year-old Azerbaijani corporal taken prisoner at the Karabakh border on Jan. 23 has written to his family saying he is well and wants to come home, the Azerbaijani press reported.

“All is well with me, I am alive and well. I myself don’t know how I was captured. I want to return. I very much want to return,” wrote Mammadbagir Akhunzade, according to his father, Talib Akhunzade.

The father also stated that the family replied to Mammadbagir in writing: “Your mom and dad, all our relatives and neighbors eagerly await you. We want you to come back with the help of God, alive and well.”

Recall, the NKR Commission on Issues of Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons earlier reported that the officer wore the uniform of an Azerbaijani armed forces serviceman, without any badges of rank. He had on his person a military card in the name of junior sergeant Akhundzade Mamedbagryu Talib-oglu, native of the Lenkoran (Lankaran) region, born in 1990.

The Commission stated that it has informed the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) and OSCE offices accredited in Stepanakert about the incident.

Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry also confirmed the news and reported that the soldier was captured near the village of Yukhari Chayli in the Tartar district along the line of contact separating the NKR Defense Army and Azerbaijan’s army.