RA Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan wrote on his Facebook page:

“The fires set by the Azerbaijani soldiers in Gegharkunik burn not only the pastures and hay-fields, but also the grass that people harvested and besieged for the winter with great difficulty.

For example, one of the residents of Kut village called today, at around 5 pm, and informed that he has 4-5 hectares of hay-field and has collected about 500 packs of grass. At around 5 pm, the fire was only 4-5 meters away from its packs.

The alarms are also about the fact that after extinguishing the fires, the Azerbaijani servicemen deliberately set fires again.

Today, we received alarms at different times from the villages of Kut and Sotk, Gegharkunik region that the fires set by the Azerbaijani servicemen on 29 August in the direction of those villages had spread even more and were already spreading to the villages.

There are many places that cannot be approached because they are under Azerbaijani fire, and when they approach, they shoot.

Firefighters are extinguishing the fires; local residents supported them as well. However, it is not possible to use the appropriate equipment in all places, as the fire is spread in high places that are difficult for the equipment to reach. And because of the weather conditions, fires are spreading more and more. Studies have shown that only the fire in the direction of Sotk was extinguished during the day.

As a result of these actions of the Azerbaijani servicemen, the pastures and hay-fields of the civilians are being destroyed; the people are being deprived of their livelihood, which in turn will increase the social problems of the people.

Taking into account that the Azerbaijani armed forces invaded and are located in the immediate vicinity of the villages in the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, the fires pose a real threat to the lives of the civilian population of the villages and their entire property.

The facts and inspections of the actions of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces by the staff of the RA Human Rights Defender prove that they are becoming more and more dangerous for the civilian population, have a direct intention to harm people, have become targeted, and violations of human rights are of massive nature.”