Relatives of people killed in Karabakh war share their memories on anniversary of beginning of combat actions

The war in Nagorno-Karabakh, which began a year ago, came as a surprise to civilians who had to leave their homes, said residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, interviewed by the “Caucasian Knot”.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that today marks one year since the start of the Karabakh war in 2020.

Nver Vardanyan, a resident of Stepanakert, told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent that he lived in Gadrut before the war, and when the mobilization was announced, he went to the war as a reservist. At the front, the man was wounded and was in a hospital when the city of Gadrut was captured by the Azerbaijani armed forces.

According to Nver Vardanyan, his elderly parents stayed in Gadrut. “I was in the hospital, as I was severely wounded. Later, I was told that my parents and their neighbours could not leave the city in due time. My parents, Serzhik and Ella Vardanyan, were shot dead by Azerbaijanis near the houses,” Nver Vardanyan said.

Now, Never Vardanyan lives with his family members in Stepanakert, where he rents a room in a private house.

Raisa Madatyan, a mother of many children, a native of the city of Shushi (the Azerbaijani name is Shusha, – note of the “Caucasian Knot”). During a bombing of the city, her house was damaged, and the family was evacuated to Armenia. The woman said that from the first day of the war, her husband volunteered for the front and was killed in the war.

“My husband was killed. I lost the house and property, and we have to rent an apartment in Stepanakert. The war took everything from us. Earlier, I could not imagine that our happy family life would end so abruptly,” the woman told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

Farmer Movlud Abbasov from the Ilisu village in the Gakh District of Azerbaijan lost his middle son Nidjat in the war. “After we had got a list reporting the death of Nidjat, his grandfather did not live even a month. This is how our family lost two close people in the war,” Movlud Abbasov said.

As a result of the 2020 war, more than 36,000 residents of Nagorno-Karabakh had to leave their permanent places of residence and become forced migrants, the “Caucasian Knot” was informed by an employee of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of Nagorno-Karabakh.

According to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Azerbaijan, as of June 30, 2906 Azerbaijani soldiers and officers were killed during the war in the autumn of 2020. Eight other soldiers were reported missing. According to the General Prosecutor’s Office of Azerbaijan, at least 93 civilians were killed and 404 others were injured.

On the part of Armenia, 3781 people were killed in the Karabakh war, and other 253 are missing, the Investigating Committee of Armenia reports today. Meanwhile, on July 7, Ombudsperson of Nagorno-Karabakh Gegam Stepanyan reported that during the autumn war of 2020, 750 citizens of Nagorno-Karabakh, including 669 soldiers and officers, were killed.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 27, 2021 at 12:14 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.