Defense Army soldiers removed from Yeghtsahogh positions; Artsakh President’s offices refuses to comment

“The soldiers of the Defense Army were removed from the borders of Yeghtsahogh village, and then Russian troops came, stayed for an hour, put their flag in the positions,” Yeghtsahogh village mayor Artak Hakobyan told Factor.am.

Yeghtsahogh, Hin Shen and Mets Shen are among the villages in the Shushi region that remained under Armenian control after the war. Last December, Armenian forces were withdrawn from the village of Hin Shen, and were replaced by Russian peacekeepers. The latter also carry out patrol service in Mets Shen community. Yeghtsahogh village mayor says there might be some arraignment of withdrawing the troops. “First, our soldiers were removed from their positions and were told that they [Azeri  troops] would also move 3 kilometers away, but at the moment, they are in their place. They said that the Russian peacekeepers would carry out patrol service.”

The mayor told Factor.am that 45 families live in the village, adding that even on the day of the capture of Shushi, “our villagers stayed in the village with their children, and even after the end of the war, our boys were standing at the border, now they told to leave. ”

Lusine Avanesyan, Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan’s spokeswoman, refused to comment. So did Vahram Poghosyan, Head of the General Information Department of Harutyunyan’s staff, who was one of the most active disseminators of information during the war.