Artsakh Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan issued the following statement following today's Azrbaijani gunfire targeting civilians doing agricultural work in the Khramort village of Artsakh.

Today, the targeted shootings of civilians who were carrying out agricultural work on the territory of the village of Khramort in Artsakh is another manifestation of ethnic hatred and the ongoing genocidal policy of Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh.

According to the information received by the Human Rights Defender's Office, the case occurred on 5 November around 12:30 in a field located on the administrative territory of the Khramort community of the Askeran Region of the Republic of Artsakh. As a result, a tractor of the brand "Belarus", belonging to a resident of Stepanakert K. Martirosyan, was damaged.

There were no casualties among civilians. As a consequence of the shootings, agricultural work was stopped entirely. The Azerbaijani authorities and armed forces who talk about peace and give false promises about the rights and security of the people of Artsakh, continue to pursue a criminal policy that leads to large-scale violations of the fundamental rights of the people of Artsakh, undermining their physical and psychological security.

We have repeatedly stressed that Azerbaijani military positions, located next to peaceful settlements, pose a direct threat to the lives of civilians and their basic rights, the threatening consequences of which we have repeatedly witnessed after the ceasefire was reached. Azerbaijan’s policy of ethnic hatred and genocide has not changed and will not change.

What is being done under the guise of false peacefulness is aimed at misleading the international community and blunting the vigilance of our society.