Azerbaijani POW sends letter to his family
By Vafa Ismayilova
Azerbaijani POW Amin Musayev, who was taken hostage by the Armenian armed forces during the Karabakh war that continued between September 27 and November 10, has sent a letter to his family.
Spokesperson for the Azerbaijani office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Ilaha Huseynova, who made public details about Amin's letter, confirmed that ICRC officials visited POWs detained during the 44-day hostilities in and around Nagorno-Karabakh.
"We continue to visit those detained as a result of the conflict. In accordance with its mandate, the ICRC [representatives] visit the detainees to monitor their conditions and treatment, as well as to enable them to communicate with their families. Under the ICRC mandate, the organization monitors the treatment and conditions of the detainees... and also assists them in maintaining ties with their families," Ilaha Huseynova said.
2,783 Azerbaijani servicemen, who fought for the country's territorial integrity, were killed in 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.
The work to identify 103 servicemen through the DNA analysis is underway. More than a hundred Azerbaijani servicemen are considered missing. The necessary measures are being taken to identify them and inform their families. Presently, 1,245 Azerbaijani servicemen are being treated in hospitals, the ministry said on December 3.
On November 10, Baku and Yerevan signed a Russia-brokered agreement to end fighting and work towards a comprehensive solution.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hailed the agreement as a victory for his country and a defeat for Armenia, saying Baku's military success enabled it to gain an upper hand to end the three-decade occupation of its territory.
Under the agreement, Yerevan and Baku have to exchange bodies of dead servicemen and also prisoners and hostages.
Ninety-four Azerbaijani civilians have been killed and hundreds of others have been injured in Armenia's armed attacks during the 44-day war.
The Azerbaijani army liberated several cities and nearly 300 of its settlements and villages as well as some strategic heights from the occupation of Armenian forces.
About 20 per cent of Azerbaijan's territory – including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions – had been under Armenian occupation for nearly three decades.
Armenia failed to implement four UN Security Council resolutions that urged the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the invading forces from the occupied territories.
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