By Mark Dovich
On Monday, Armenia’s Security Council raised the total number of people on its side killed or missing after Azerbaijan’s major attack on Armenia last week to 207, a figure that includes three civilians killed and two civilians missing.
The Security Council did not specify how many of the 202 soldiers were killed versus how many remain missing. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said last Friday 135 Armenian soldiers were killed in action after last week’s two-day attack, but warned, “this number is still not final.”
293 Armenian soldiers and 3 civilians were injured in the attack, and another 20 soldiers were taken as prisoners of war by Azerbaijan, the Security Council said, adding, “there is evidence of torture, mutilation, and thus illegal killing of captured or killed Armenian servicemen.”
In a statement, the Security Council said, “the aggressive policy pursued by Azerbaijan is aimed at aborting efforts aimed at establishing peace in the region…and imposing forced solutions on Armenia.”
“Armenia considers Azerbaijan’s policy of threat and coercion to be unacceptable,” the statement continued. “The Security Council declares that Armenia will protect its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity by all available means. Azerbaijani troops must withdraw from the occupied territories of Armenia.”
Azerbaijan attacked a total of 36 communities in eastern and southern Armenia last week, including major towns like Goris, Jermuk, Kapan, Sisian, and Vardenis, according to Security Council figures. That marked an unprecedented escalation in hostilities between the two sides.
As of Monday, Azerbaijan reported 80 of its soldiers killed, with another 282 wounded. The two sides’ combined losses make last week the bloodiest in the region since the outbreak of the war in and around Karabakh nearly two years ago.
A ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan that came into effect last Wednesday evening continued to hold as of 10 a.m. local time Monday, Armenia’s Defense Ministry said.
