Some 742 servicemen of Artsakh Defense Army killed in last autumn’s 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone
YEREVAN, September 29. /ARKA/. Some 742 servicemen of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Defense Army were killed in last autumn’s 44-day war in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone and another 45 went missing, the permanent representative of Artsakh Republic in Armenia Sergey Ghazaryan said during a meeting of the Armenian parliamentary committee on human rights and public issues today.
Armenia’s Investigative Committee said last week that 3,781 people were killed in the war and 231 servicemen and 22 civilians were missing. According to it, 108 military personnel and civilians have been returned home from Azerbaijani captivity so far.
According to Sergey Ghazaryan, 80 civilians- residents of Artsakh- were killed (42 as a result of targeted strikes) and another 38 are still in Azerbaijani captivity.
He said there are still 42,000 displaced residents of Artsakh 38,154 of whom lost their homes. Some 15,000 of the displaced people are in Artsakh capital Stepanakert and another 5,000 are in other Artsakh urban and rural communities.
Ghazaryan added that 3 thousand house renting agreements have been concluded, and some 1,960 people live in hotels. To accommodate people left without shelter, the Artsakh government plans to build 300 apartments in Stepanakert by the end of the year.
Ghazaryan said also that 92 settlements - 185 villages and 5 cities of Artsakh - came under the control of Azerbaijan as a result of the war. Also, the local infrastructure has been significantly damaged: out of 36 hydroelectric power plants there are only six now; the water supply system is damaged; the damage sustained to the telecommunications sector is estimated at $42 million.
As a result of the war, 1,226 economic entities were damaged, and 75% of the cultivated land came under Azerbaijan’s control.
As Ghazaryan noted, a serious danger threatens the Armenian historical and cultural heritage in the territories, which came under the control of Azerbaijan. He said more than 2 thousand monuments are under threat, including 13 monastic complexes, 122 churches, 52 fortresses and 523 khachkars (cross stones) as well as 127 school libraries and 12 museums with more than 20 thousand exhibits.
According to Ghazaryan, Armenian cultural heritage monuments were destroyed and vandalized by Azerbaijani troops even after the November 9, 2020 ceasefire. -0-
