{"id":2525,"date":"2020-12-16T18:01:22","date_gmt":"2020-12-16T18:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiofree.org\/?p=140090"},"modified":"2020-12-16T18:01:22","modified_gmt":"2020-12-16T18:01:22","slug":"dozens-of-armenian-soldiers-captured-in-nagorno-karabakh-raid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2020\/12\/16\/dozens-of-armenian-soldiers-captured-in-nagorno-karabakh-raid\/","title":{"rendered":"Dozens Of Armenian Soldiers ‘Captured’ In Nagorno-Karabakh Raid"},"content":{"rendered":"
The de facto authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh say dozens of ethnic Armenian soldiers have been captured in a raid by Azerbaijani forces in the breakaway region following last month’s cease-fire that ended six weeks of fighting.<\/p>\n
“Unfortunately, several dozen of our servicemen have been captured near Khtsaberd,” the leader of the separatist mountainous region, Arayik Harutiunian, said on December 16.<\/p>\n
The rights ombudsman in Nagorno-Karabakh, Artak Beglarian, put the number of captive soldiers at around 60.<\/p>\n
Nagorno-Karabakh’s Defense Ministry earlier said contact had been lost with a number of army positions around the villages of Khtsaberd (Caylaqqala in Azeri) and Hin Tagher (Kohne Taglar).<\/p>\n
There has been no comment so far on the soldiers’ reported capture from Azerbaijani authorities.<\/p>\n
Armenian and Azerbaijan agreed to a Moscow-brokered accord that took effect on November 10, ending the worst clashes over Nagorno-Karabakh since the early 1990s.<\/p>\n
Under the agreement, Azerbaijani retook control of swaths of territory ethnic Armenians had controlled since the 1990s and nearly 2,000 Russian peacekeepers have been deployed between the two sides.<\/p>\n
The Russian peacekeeping force reported over the weekend that fighting had broken out between the two sides in violation of the cease-fire.<\/p>\n