Defense Ministry says Armenian side hides real figures on military causalities
By Rashid Shirinov
Armenia, which continues to occupy twenty percent of Azerbaijani territories, still tries to hide the real number of soldier deaths from the 2016 April escalation.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry stated that the figures on military causalities revealed by the head of the Armenian Armed Forces’ Medical Department, Kamavor Khachatryan, do not correspond to reality.
At least 320 Armenian soldiers were killed and 500 more were wounded during the April battles, the ministry reported on January 26, noting that even some Armenian independent experts indirectly confirmed the figures suggested by the Azerbaijani side.
“150 Armenian soldiers who were seriously wounded in the April battles are still receiving treatment in Armenia and other countries,” the ministry said, further adding that the Armenian army has lost more than 10 servicemen since the beginning of 2017.
The situation on the frontline aggravated on April 2 after the Armenian military units in the occupied lands began shelling Azerbaijan’s positions. To protect civilian population, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces launched counter attacks and as a result, the Azerbaijani troops retook hills around the village of Talish, as well as Seysulan settlement, and also took over Lele Tepe hill located in the direction of Fizuli region.
Azerbaijan and Armenia declared a truce brokered by Russia on April 5.
Over 320 Armenian servicemen were killed, more than 500 Armenian soldiers were injured, 30 enemy tanks and other armored vehicles, as well as more than 25 artillery pieces were destroyed during the counter attacks of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported, while Armenian side hide the real figures saying that only 80 soldiers died .
The reason of the weak performance of Armenian soldiers resulted from strong counter attack of the Azerbaijani side, but also poor situation of the Armenian army is also viewed as a reason.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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