Epress.am News from Armenia
In 2022, at least 50 cases of servicemens’ deaths (in non-combat conditions) were registered in the Armed Forces of Armenia and the Karabakh Defense Army, writes the Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly.
According to the official versions, the causes of death are as follows:
- Health issues; 17 cases
- Car accident; 17 cases
- Suicide; 6 cases
- Murder; 6 cases – of which 2 were intentional, 1 was related to breach of the rules for handling weapon, 1 occurred under unknown conditions and 2 as a result of “violation of combat service rules”
- Accident; 2 cases: (burn due to fire, electric shock, drowning)
- Breach of the rules of dealing with weapons, munition or dangerous substances; 1 case,
- Mine explosion; 1 case
Another 14 servicemen were killed (during different months of the year) as a result of violations of the ceasefire.
According to official information, in the period between September 13 and 15, 2022, as a result of the large-scale attack by Azerbaijan on Armenia, 221 servicemen were killed and 3 servicemen are still considered missing.
Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor emphasizes that, apart from the conflict escalation in September, 64 deaths were registered in the army last year, 50 of which were in non-combat situations and 14 as a result of ceasefire violations.
Of the 64 death cases, only 30 (47%) were officially reported, another 4 cases (6%) were reported by the media, 3 of which (5%) were confirmed by the Ministry of Defense and the Prosecutor General’s Office, but a message about these incidents was never published. Information about the other 27 (42%) cases was not published at all.
Out of 64 cases of death, 54 (84%) were registered in the territory of Armenia, 10 (16%) in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Last year (2021), there were 76 deaths of servicemen registered, 54 of them in non-combat conditions and 19 as a result of ceasefire violations. In 2021, 9 cases of “suicide” (and 6 in 2022) and 11 cases of murder (6 in 2022) were registered.
The full report containing details of the fatalities can be found here (in Armenian).