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Why Armenia spreads fake information about alleged Azerbaijani attack?

29 November 2019 13:04 (UTC+04:00)
Why Armenia spreads fake information about alleged Azerbaijani attack?

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Recently the Armenian media circulated yet another disinformation about developments in the line of contact between the troops of the two countries.

Thus, according to the Armenian media, the imaginary attack of up to 20 Azerbaijani servicemen took place in the Armenian-occupied Agdara region on November 26 and resulted in one Azerbaijani soldier being injured. The Azerbaijani soldiers allegedly retreated, taking their wounded co-serviceman with them.

One and half hours later, the Armenian media denied the report they had circulated.

Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry made a statement on the same day, stating that the information spread by Armenian side about an alleged attempt of provocation by the Azerbaijani army units on the front line in Agdara direction was false and was aimed at distracting the Armenian population from domestic problems.

“It is clear that the recently observed stable situation on the front line does not satisfy the military-political leadership of Armenia, and it is trying to distract the Armenian people from problems in their country, disseminating such information. On the other hand, as always, the enemy has a fear of an Azerbaijani soldier,” the ministry stated.

The constant disinformation circulated in the Armenian media prompts several questions: What is happening in the Armenian armed forces? Why do Armenian soldiers seem to have fictional scenes with the participation of Azerbaijani military with all the details that later turn out to be false?

One of the answers might be a power struggle within Armenia.

It is noteworthy that the non-existent "sabotage" occurred on the same day when the spouse of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Anna Hakobyan, arrived on the front line. She was near Chambarak in north-east Armenia, where she was visiting a combat position.

The reason for Hakobyan’s unexpected visit is unclear. It can be assumed that she sought to show future conscripts that one should not evade military service, or tried to popularize military service among girls. It's no secret that the Armenian authorities have sought to attract women to the army, as the country’s demography shrinks and the number of people leaving the country is skyrocketing.

It should be noted that the distance between Chambarak that Hakobyan visited and occupied Agdara, where the alleged Azerbaijani sabotage took place, is 130 km. Apparently, there are certain people in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh who do not want Hakobyan to visit the region.

It’s worth mentioning that since assuming the power in 2018, Prime Minister Pashinyan has found himself in a power struggle with the clan in Azerbaijan’s occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region.

There are other likely reasons for the latest disinformation by Armenia.

According to one of the versions, someone was creating an appearance of a battle and reporting on the repulsion of the Azerbaijani attack with a hope to be promoted.

Another reason might be that someone sought to appropriate live ammunition by making them look like they were shot.

Another possible version is that the Armenian military wanted to eliminate an uncomfortable soldier or an officer and accuse Azerbaijani armed forces for the murder. However, the plan failed and the Armenian command preferred to go silent so as not to be exposed.

Given that the source of information about a non-existent attack was not indicated, it can be assumed that this was not the work of the military, but of unauthorized persons. Probably someone sought to spread panic among Armenians or distract attention from other processes taking place in the country.

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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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