Farmers in Artsakh targeted by Azerbaijan forces, tractor damaged in shooting

(Armradio) – The Azerbaijani forces targeted civilians carrying out agricultural work on the territory of the village of Khramort in Artsakh’s Askeran region at about 12:30 today, Artsakh’s Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan informs.

As a result, a “Belarus” tractor belonging to K. Martirosyan, a resident of Stepanakert, was damaged. There were no casualties among civilians. The shooting caused the agricultural work to stop.

According to the Ombudsman, the incident is “another manifestation of ethnic hatred and ongoing genocidal policy of Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh.”

“The Azerbaijani authorities and armed forces who talk about peace and give false promises about the rights and security of the people of Artsakh, continue to pursue a criminal policy that leads to large-scale violations of the fundamental rights of the people of Artsakh, undermining their physical and psychological security,” the Human Rights Defender said in a statement.

“We have repeatedly stressed that Azerbaijani military positions, located in the vicinity of peaceful settlements, pose a direct threat to the lives of civilians and their basic rights, the threatening consequences of which we have repeatedly witnessed after the ceasefire was reached,” he added.

“Azerbaijan’s policy of ethnic hatred and genocide has not changed and will not change. What is being done under the guise of false peacefulness is aimed at misleading the international community and blunting the vigilance of our society, “Stepanyan concluded.