Azernews.Az

By Trend

Member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Rodina (Motherland) party Aleksey Zhuravlev visited Azerbaijan’s Barda town during his visit to Azerbaijan, Trend reports on Feb. 18.

During the recent 44-day Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh war, Barda town, located 40 kilometers from the front line, populated by civilians was repeatedly subjected to missile fire by the Armenian Armed Forces.

As a result of the attacks, 27 people were killed (including five women), more than 70 people were injured (including eight children and 15 women). Moreover, the Armenian troops caused big damage to more than 30 civilian facilities, 20 residential houses of civilians, and 22 vehicles.

During the visit, Zhuravlev visited the central square and the city market, which were subjected to intensive shelling during the 44-day war by using the 'Tochka U' tactic complex missile and the Smerch Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS).

"These are not random shots from a machine gun, but a war crime, for which the political, military leadership and executors must be held accountable," Zhuravlev added.

Then the State Duma member visited a restaurant that was completely destroyed as a result of a direct missile attack. This happened 30 minutes before foreign journalists were supposed to visit him.

In the end of his visit, Zhuravlev visited a family who had lost their son during the shelling. The missile hit the courtyard of a private house and the son died. The State Duma member expressed his condolences to the family of the deceased and hoped that the perpetrators will be punished. Zhuravlev was shocked by the incident.

“It is obvious that the nearest military facilities are located tens of kilometers from the settlement,” the MP said. “This testifies to the fact that those who gave the order to fire on the city were well aware that they were attacking civilians. It is necessary to conduct an investigation, and all the perpetrators must be punished."

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