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ARMENIAN CONSCRIPT SHOOTS OFFICERS AND HIMSELF IN NKR: SIX BELIEVED TO BE DEAD AT MARTUNI BASE
Karine Ionesyan
ArmeniaNow
30.07.10
Army conscripts face front-line pressures and battle a history of
wrongdoing in the military
An Armenian conscript on duty in Martuni, Karabakh has killed himself
and five other servicemen according to information widely spread,
but not yet confirmed by the Ministry of Defense.
According to unofficial information, conscript Karo Ayvazyan shot
four officers, a fellow-conscript and then himself in an apparent
attempt to defend his comrade from the officers' punishment.
Human rights activist Arthur Sakunts told ArmeniaNow that late
on Thursday (July 29), officers at the outpost found 20-year old
Andranik Sargsyan asleep on his watch and awoke him with insults and
humiliation. Ayvazyan, who was serving the same watch, then shot the
officers before shooting himself. Sargsyan also died in the shooting,
but it is unknown whether his death was intentional or the result of
random firing.
The Press Department of the MOD refused ArmeniaNow's request for
information, stating that nothing is clear yet. The official website
of the ministry reports that on Thursday evening an "incident"
involving "use of firearms" and resulting in an unspecified number
of casualties took place at one of military bases. It also says
that military investigators have received the "strictest orders"
to clarify all circumstances of the incident (http://www.mil.am).
In addition to Sargsyan and Ayvazyan, the dead are: Vardges Tadevosyan
(Yerevan); Garegin Hovsepyan (Echmiadzin), Robert Hovhannisyan
(Vanadzor), Artyom Manasyan (Charentsavan).
The incident comes a day after another officer died in non-combat
circumstance in an unrelated case in Tavush, Armenia. According to
the MOD, 31-year-old lieutenant Artak Nazaryan used an automatic
weapon to commit suicide at his base. Nazaryan's parents, however,
have challenged the official cause of death, reporting that forensics
revealed that Nazaryan had been beaten prior to his death.
From: A. Papazian
Karine Ionesyan
ArmeniaNow
30.07.10
Army conscripts face front-line pressures and battle a history of
wrongdoing in the military
An Armenian conscript on duty in Martuni, Karabakh has killed himself
and five other servicemen according to information widely spread,
but not yet confirmed by the Ministry of Defense.
According to unofficial information, conscript Karo Ayvazyan shot
four officers, a fellow-conscript and then himself in an apparent
attempt to defend his comrade from the officers' punishment.
Human rights activist Arthur Sakunts told ArmeniaNow that late
on Thursday (July 29), officers at the outpost found 20-year old
Andranik Sargsyan asleep on his watch and awoke him with insults and
humiliation. Ayvazyan, who was serving the same watch, then shot the
officers before shooting himself. Sargsyan also died in the shooting,
but it is unknown whether his death was intentional or the result of
random firing.
The Press Department of the MOD refused ArmeniaNow's request for
information, stating that nothing is clear yet. The official website
of the ministry reports that on Thursday evening an "incident"
involving "use of firearms" and resulting in an unspecified number
of casualties took place at one of military bases. It also says
that military investigators have received the "strictest orders"
to clarify all circumstances of the incident (http://www.mil.am).
In addition to Sargsyan and Ayvazyan, the dead are: Vardges Tadevosyan
(Yerevan); Garegin Hovsepyan (Echmiadzin), Robert Hovhannisyan
(Vanadzor), Artyom Manasyan (Charentsavan).
The incident comes a day after another officer died in non-combat
circumstance in an unrelated case in Tavush, Armenia. According to
the MOD, 31-year-old lieutenant Artak Nazaryan used an automatic
weapon to commit suicide at his base. Nazaryan's parents, however,
have challenged the official cause of death, reporting that forensics
revealed that Nazaryan had been beaten prior to his death.
From: A. Papazian