Azernews.Az

By Akbar Mammadov

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has begun negotiations on Armenian saboteur Senior Lieutenant Gurgen Alaverdyan who was captured by the Azerbaijan forces in the line of contact on August 23.

Head of the Public Relations Department of the ICRC Office in Azerbaijan Ilaha Huseynova told Trend news agecny on August 25 that the ICRC is in contact with the relevant authorities of both countries on this issue.

“According to the mandate of the committee, it visits detainees as a result of the conflict, monitors their treatment and conditions of detention, and also helps them to contact their families," she noted.

It should be noted that Gurgen Alaverdayn was the commander of Armenian sabotage and reconnaissance group that sought to stage a provocation in the direction of Azerbaijan’s Goranboy district at about 05:45 on August 23.

During the battle, Gurgin Alberyan was taken prisoner, while the Armenian group retreated, suffering losses as a result of measures taken by the units of the Azerbaijani Army.

Earlier, on August 24, Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry revealed to the public the military items seized from Gurgen Alaverdyan during his capture.

The ministry reiterated that the military-political leadership of Armenia bears all responsibility for the aggravation of the situation on the line of contact and along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

It should be noted that Armenia has stepped up its military provocation recently, staging sabotage both on the border and on the line of contact. On July 12, Armenian forces shelled Azerbaijan's positions in Tovuz, Azerbaijan's strategically-important district on the border. The Armenian attack killed 12 Azerbaijani servicemen, including an army general, as well as a 76-year-old civilian. Armenian forces retreated after suffering losses in Azerbaijan's retaliation.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

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Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

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