YEREVAN (A.W.)—The Armenian military have repatriated the body of a dead Azerbaijani serviceman, who was killed in late December during an infiltration attempt, Armenian Defense Ministry reported.
An Armenian military official and representatives of the Red Cross prepare for the handover to Azerbaijan of the body of an Azerbaijani serviceman (Photo: Armenia Defense Ministry)
The body of 22-year-old Cingiz Qurbanov was returned to Baku on Feb. 5 through the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
Gurbanov (b. 1994), along with three other servicemen, was killed on Dec. 29 during an infiltration attempt by the Azerbaijani army at an Armenian post in the northern Tavush province of Armenia. According to officials in Yerevan, the presence of the dead Azerbaijani serviceman’s body lying in Armenian territory proves that the post was attacked by Azerbaijani troops.
Three Armenian servicemen were killed and several others were injured in the unprovoked Azerbaijani attack. Senior Lieutenant Shavarsh Melikyan and Privates Edgar Narayan and Erik Abovyan were killed in the attack, according to the Armenian Defense Ministry.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry denied the attack and instead claimed that the Armenian Armed Forces were ambushed while trying to cross into Azerbaijan. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk group failed to blame either side for the Dec. 29 incident, but urged Yerevan to repatriate Qurbanov’s body “without delay.”
The Armenian Defense Ministry said that forensic experts in Yerevan had finished examining the body as part of criminal investigation into the border incident conducted by Armenian law enforcement authorities.
Source: Armenian Weekly
Link: Armenia Repatriates Azerbaijani Serviceman’s Body