Nagorno-Karabakh Conscript Found Dead in Alleged Suicide

Karen A Avetisyan, a conscript of the Nagorno-Karabakh defense army, was found dead in the combat position of his military unit with a gunshot wound through his chin at around 5 am on April 25, Armenia’s Investigative Committee reported Tuesday evening.

According to the preliminary information gathered, 19-year-old Avetisyan’s fatal wound was self-inflicted; a criminal case has been launched under article 110.1 of Armenia’s Criminal Code (incitement to suicide).

Avetisyan’s death is the fourth fatality in Armenia’s armed forces and the NKR defense army in the last week. Conscripts Narek Harutyunyan and Tatul Harutyunyan were reported killed by Azerbaijani fire on April 24 and April 19 respectively. Narek Hakobyan, a contract serviceman of a Vayk military unit, suffered a fatal wound as a result of a violation of the rules of safe gun handling by a junior sergeant of the same unit, officials said.