Epress.am News from Armenia
From January-September 2014, the Armenian Armed Forces and the NKR Defense Army have had 38 military deaths resulting from 36 incidents. In 2013, during the same time frame, military servicemen deaths had totaled 25, that is to say, that deaths in 2014, have risen by 13 compared to 2013. The Helsinki Citizens Assembly Vanadzor office spoke of the issue in their report (in Armenian).
Within the noted time frame, 20 of the 38 registered deaths occurred due to ceasefire violations, 6 due to unfortunate accidents, 4 murders (2 intentional murders, 2 from gun accidents), 3 breach of combat duty or military duty, 3 from health issues and non-proper administered medical care, 1 gun accident, and 1 suicide (according to the criminal case assessment).
The report notes, that within the last five years, deaths from ceasefire violations formed approximately 22% of all deaths, while in 2014, those very deaths have significantly increased to 52%.
“9 of the 20 deaths during the ceasefire violations were from enemy sabotage and reconnaissance group penetration. In fact, 5 people were killed from one penetration group. Simultaneously, during the same time period, ceasefire violations had doubled, especially from May to August, where a significant increase in violations took place. During the same time period, deaths resulting from ceasefire violations also increased” said the announcement.
Right after the report’s publication, the Armenian Investigative Committee announced that a soldier, Davit Navasardyan, was killed in Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijani fire.