Military prosecutor: bodies of Azerbaijani soldiers desecrated in Armenia

A senior assistant to Azerbaijan’s military prosecutor, Safar Ahmadov, said during the hearings in the Azerbaijani parliament on the 'Recent developments along the line of contact: Problems of the international humanitarian law' that the bodies of soldiers of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces killed in the April clashes were desecrated by the Armenian army.

“Ears of some servicemen were cut off. Terter district prosecutor’s office already opened a criminal case into this fact, investigation is underway,” he said.

“An unexploded phosphorus artillery shell was discovered on a cotton field in the village. The unexploded shell turned out to be 122-mm D-4 (smoke shell). A criminal case has been initiated on the fact,” Ahmadov added.

Recall, on the night of April 2 all frontier positions of Azerbaijan were exposed to heavy fire from large-caliber weapons, mortars, grenade launchers and guns. In addition, Azerbaijani settlements near the front line, densely populated by civilians, were shelled.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20% of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US, are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.