News - Ruben Vardanyan: Approximately 100 casualties result from Azerbaijan's aggression in Artsakh

As a consequence of Azerbaijan's aggression against Artsakh, around 100 people have lost their lives, with hundreds more sustaining injuries. Ruben Vardanyan, former Minister of State of Artsakh, said this in an interview with Reuters. “This is a big war - Azerbaijan has started a full operation,” he said. He highlighted that Azerbaijani forces continued combat throughout the entire preceding night, resulting in hundreds of injuries and the tragic loss of approximately 100 lives. “Already hundreds of people have been injured and close to 100 people have been killed,” Vardanyan said. In his remarks, Vardanyan characterized the situation as a form of ethnic cleansing, where civilians are becoming the unfortunate victims. “They are basically saying to us that we need to leave, not stay here, or accept that this is a part of Azerbaijan - this is basically a typical ethnical cleansing operation and a war with a lot of civilians now being killed,” he added. Vardanyan expressed concern that the international community appears to be ignoring the fate of Nagorno Karabakh. He noted, "Russia is silent and Russia is basically ignoring this whole military operation. But not only Russia but the world also is silent. Nobody is doing anything: everyone is ignoring this, Russia is silent but so is the West. Can you imagine what happens if 120,000 people go to Armenia?" As previously reported by NEWS.am, Azerbaijan's Armed Forces initiated artillery fire along the entire line of contact in Nagorno Karabakh on September 19, starting at 1 p.m., in an attempt to breach the defense line of the Nagorno Karabakh Defense Forces. Presently, Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno Karabakh, and other settlements are enduring heavy shelling. Gegham Stepanyan, the Human Rights Defender of Nagorno Karabakh, has documented multiple casualties and injuries among civilians, including children. As of September 20, fighting continues along the contact line of Nagorno Karabakh with varying degrees of intensity. Units of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces are employing various weapons not only to maintain their positional advance but also to target civilian infrastructure. As of 03:00, September 20, according to the information received by the Office of the Human Rights Defender, the number of civilian casualties in Artsakh as a result of Azerbaijani aggression has reached 7, including 3 women, 2 children, and 2 men. There are also 35 injured civilians: 13 children, 15 women and 7 men.