Officials Confirm, Armenian Soldier Fatally Shot Fellow Serviceman, Killed Himself

Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry reported Friday that two 19-year-old soldiers  – Kamo A Hovhannisyan and Temur Sh Sloyan – were killed at around 7 am on February 19 from gunshot wounds in an “emergency incident” at a southeastern military unit of the NKR Defense Army. 

Prior to the issuance of the military authorities' statement, however, Politik.am had reported that Yazidi conscript Temur Sloyan, a resident of the community of Proshyan, shot an officer and then killed himself following an argument with the fellow serviceman. This version was later confirmed by Armenia's Investigative Committee.

Artur Muradyan, head of the Proshyan community in Armenia's Kotayk province, told Epress.am he was not familiar with the details of the incident. “All I know is they phoned the mother early in the morning to inform [about the death]. His mother is [the conscript’s] only relative in Armenia; she is in a terrible state,” Muradyan said.