Azernews.Az

By Vafa Ismayilova

One of the commanders of the Armenian occupying forces fled from the battlefield during the 44-day Second Karabakh War in 2020, leaving his soldiers in the lurch, Day.az reported, quoting the Armenian media.

As a result of the cowardly behaviour of certain I. Vaganyan, who ran away, many soldiers were killed, captured and injured. This is stated in the message of Armenia's Investigative Committee, the report added.

It is noted that a criminal case has been filed against Vaganyan. From the materials of the case, it follows that Vaganyan did not fulfil his functions during the hostilities, refused to obey the orders of his superiors, left the battlefield without permission, as a result of which the battalion's personnel suffered losses.

Based on the obtained evidence, Vaganyan was charged and arrested. The preliminary investigation into his case continues.

Hundreds of criminal cases have been initiated in Armenia to clarify many of the circumstances of the military operations in Karabakh. During the war, thousands of Armenian soldiers deserted and refused to fight because the Armenian army plundered by former Armenian President Robert Kocharian was in a deplorable state. Videos were circulated on social networking platforms where soldiers swore obscenities at their commanders, who tried to send them to the battlefield, Day.az said.

It was reported in early February that Armenia’s law-enforcement agencies had launched criminal cases against over 10,000 people on charges of desertion during the war with Azerbaijan last year, namely for abandoning their combat positions and fleeing the battlefield.

It should be noted that in late January, a group of Armenians who joined the war as volunteers gathered outside the Armenian Defence Ministry demanding an explanation of why they, like the others, have not been paid compensation so far. One of the protesters said that about 2,700 people are in the same situation - they are not registered in any of the military units, but all of them took part in the hostilities.

The 44-day war between Azerbaijan and Armenia from late September to early November in 2020 ended with the signing of a trilateral peace deal by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders.

The peace agreement stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Armenian-occupied Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions. Before the signing of the deal, the Azerbaijani army had liberated around 300 villages, settlements, city centres and historic Shusha city. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s.

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