Two Armenian Soldiers Killed in Azerbaijani Attack

On the night of January 2nd and the morning of January 3rd, at approximately 3:15 A.M., two separate diversionary attacks by the Azerbaijani army were conducted along the southwestern front of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh Republic.

According to a statement released by the NKR Defense Ministry, frontline forces of the Karabakh Defense Army were able to push back the adversary to their starting positions. Two Armenian soldiers, Karen Grigoryan and Vardan Mkrtchyan were killed during the battle. Another soldier, Volodya Harutyunyan sustained injuries.

“The NKR Defense Ministry shares the grief of the heavy loss and extends its support to the family members, relatives and comrades of the killed soldiers,” the statement read.

An investigation into the attacks has been launched.

Armenia’s Defense Ministry also issued a statement regarding this latest ceasefire violation, noting that all units of the Karabakh Defense Army are monitoring the situation along the entire length of the Karabakh-Azerbaijan Line of Contact.

“The Defense Ministry declares that the situation initiated by Azerbaijan on the eve of Christmas is a result of their military and political leadership’s insidious policy and wholly contradicts the spirit and logic of the negotiation process for a peaceful settlement of the conflict by the OSCE Minsk Group,” the statement read.

The Defense Ministry underscored that the reprehensible actions and irresponsible policy of Azerbaijan at the very beginning of 2015 must be called out and condemned by the international community and in particular, by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries.

The statement went on to state, “Any unbridled provocation by the leadership of Azerbaijan in 2015, will similarly be severely punished and will inevitably lead to large losses for the Azerbaijani armed forces, and that country’s leadership will have to bear the full brunt of the responsibility.”

In a decree issued by President Bako Sahakyan of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh, the two slain soldiers were posthumously awarded medals for their service in the defense of the country. Vardan Mkrtchyan was awarded the Medal of Bravery and Karen Grigoryan the medal of Military Service.