U.S. House amendment demands Azerbaijan's immediate release of Armenian POWs,

YEREVAN, September 22, /ARKA/. The U.S. House passed the Cardenas-Schiff-Sherman Amendment, demanding Azerbaijan's immediate release of Armenian POWs, and calling for a report on Azerbaijani war crimes, including the use of illegal munitions and white phosphorus against Armenian civilians, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) said in a Facebook post.

It said the amendment also requests an investigation into the use of U.S. technology in Turkish drones used to target Armenian civilians during the 2020 Artsakh war.

According to some sources, as many as 188 Armenian prisoners of war and civilians are still held in Azerbaijan. So far, 104 citizens of Armenia and 16 Azerbaijanis were repatriated. Some of the Armenian prisoners were returned to their homeland through the efforts of the commander of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh, some - through the mediation of the EU, the USA and Georgia.

On September 27, 2020, Azerbaijani armed forces, backed by Turkey and foreign mercenaries and terrorists, attacked Nagorno-Karabakh along the entire front line using rocket and artillery weapons, heavy armored vehicles, military aircraft and prohibited types of weapons such as cluster bombs and  phosphorus weapons.

After 44 days of the war, on November 9, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a statement on the cessation of all hostilities. According to the document, the town of Shushi, the districts of Agdam, Kelbajar and Lachin were handed over to Azerbaijan, with the exception of a 5-kilometer corridor connecting Karabakh with Armenia. 

A Russian peacekeeping contingent was deployed along the contact line in Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor. -0--