11,000 Armenian soldiers wounded and got sick in recent Artsakh war, military official says

Nearly 11,000 Armenian troops were injured and got sick during the recent war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), Colonel Gegham Pashikyan, deputy head of the Military Medical Department of the Armenian Armed Forces, told a news conference on Sunday, Armenpress reported.

For 44 days of the war, up to 11,000 servicemen, including police officers, NSS border troops and volunteers, were registered in hospitals, the official said.

“55% had slight injuries, 35% had moderate injuries, 7% were severely injured, while 2% were critically injured,” Pashikyan said.

Head of the Military Medical Department, Colonel Sahak Ohanyan said about 1,500 servicemen are currently hospitalized, adding 885 people have disabilities of the first, second or third degree.

“Those with first and second degree of disabilities benefit from the support of the Insurance Foundation for Servicemen,” Ohanyan noted.

He said during the first 22-23 days of the war, the servicemen sustained only shrapnel injuries.

“It speaks to the fact that the enemy [Azerbaijan] used UAVs, long-range artillery. After the third week of the war, when the enemy troops approached and there was direct contact, we recorded the first gunshot injuries among the servicemen,” Ohanyan stated.