Deadly toy

While the Russian side is trying to propose new ways for a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, terrifying incidents on the border keep happening, claiming the lives of innocent civilians, and what’s worse – children.

Just recently, a 13-year-old Azerbaijani girl from the village of Alibejli died in an explosion. The explosive device was embedded in a toy that was found by the girl and her friend floating in the Tovus River. The police are still investigating the case, but it is quite obvious that the people who did this were targeting children. The river has its source on Armenian territory and there was another similar incident in 1994, in which two children died and one was injured, so it’s a safe bet that this horrifying diversion was carried out by some Armenian fanatics out of ethnic and confessional hatred.

“This kind of diversion, I mean planting mined toys on enemy territory, is directed against the civilian population, namely children. Such actions are condemned by all international rights conventions regarding armed conflicts,” Permanent Representative of Azerbaijani Republic to the UN Agshin Mekhtiev said.

The incident in Alibejli is the second case of casualties among Azerbaijani children in the conflict zone. Last March, a shot traced to Armenian sniper positions in the occupied village of Shakhlar killed a nine-year-old Azerbaijani boy in the village of Orta. It’s worth mentioning that this tragedy happened right after a meeting of the Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian Presidents in Sochi on March 5.

These horrific incidents, which tend to happen just after meetings of Azerbaijani and Armenian heads of state, prohibit any real progress in the peace talks between the two sides. It seems that there is a powerful faction out there that’s ready for all kinds of provocations to maintain the status quo.

Of course, no one is suggesting that the general Armenian population supports such means to fight their neighbours. However, the position of the Armenian authorities hampers any proper investigation of such
incidents. Instead of helping to find the perpetrators responsible for children’s deaths, Armenian officials deny that Armenian citizens had anything to do with the crimes. Moreover, they claim that it is the Azerbaijani military that is responsible for all these casualties.

Elmira Tariverdieva, exclusively to VK