NKR asks ICRC to help bring home dead bodies of helicopter crew

YEREVAN, November 13. / ARKA /. The State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) has asked today officially the International Committee of Red Cross Mission in Nagorno-Karabakh to mediate the return of the bodies of three pilots of a Mi-24 combat helicopter that was shot down by Azerbaijan east of the line of contact at 13:45 local time on 12 November.

The helicopter belonged to the armed forces of Nagorno-Karabakh and was on a routine training mission near the line of contact when it was shot down.

The Commission said the helicopter fell very close to Azerbaijani positions who continue shelling the site not allowing the Armenian side to take the bodies of the helicopter’s crew, who were identified as Sergey Sahakyan, Sargis Nazaryan and Azat Sahakyan. 

The incident was condemned by international organizations. The Minsk Group of mediators from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) -- which is co-chaired by France, Russia, and the United States -- said the incident shows the "urgency to intensify efforts to find a lasting settlement" to the decades-old conflict.

David Babaian, a spokesman for the Nagorno-Karabakh forces, said the helicopter was on a training mission and denied it was involved in any combat operations.

Armenia's Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovannisyan called the incident an "unprecedented provocation that leads to an escalation in the situation."

Hovannisyan called Azerbaijani claims the helicopter attacked Azerbaijani troops "absurd." He also said: “The consequences for the Azerbaijani side will be very painful, and all responsibility will rest with the Azeri political leadership." -0-