Homicide Rate Increased Fourfold in Armenia and Karabakh Armies in 2016

The number of homicides increased fourfold in the January to September period of 2016 in Armenia's Armed Forces and Nagorno-Karabakh's Defense Army, going up to 12 killings from the 3 cases recorded in the same period of 2015, while the suicide rate increased twofold – 5 and 10 cases in 2015 and 2016, respectively, according to a report [ARM] published by the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Vanadzor Office (HCAV) Tuesday, October 4. 

A total of 146 servicemen – among them conscripts, contract soldiers and volunteers who participated in the early April “four-day war” – died in the studied period in the two armies, the report said.

77 of the 146 servicemen, according to HCAV, died during the four days of intense fighting along the contact line of Karabakh-Azerbaijani armed forces; the remaining deaths were attributed by military officials to a group of causes – suicide, breach of combat duty rules, natural disaster, etc. 126 of the deaths occurred on the territory of NKR, and the remaining 20 – in Armenia.