Three hundred and six deaths were registered in the Armenian army 2005 to 2011, with 228 of them registered since 2007. Only 32 of the deaths occurred because of ceasefire violations on the line of contact, Artur Sakunts, Head of the Vanadzor office, Helsinki Citizens' Assembly (HCA), told journalists Sept. 6, Tert.am reported.
"So it turns out more dangerous to serve inside military units than to be on guard on the front line," he said. Human rights defenders demand explanations for the current situation in the Armenian army from the Ministry of Defense. "Also, how does it happen that the response to other death cases is not so prompt as it is in the Aghasi Abrahamyan murder case?" asked Sakunts. He also demands explanations for corruption cases in the army.
Sakunts pointed out that Armenia's Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian is not in control of the situation. So human rights defenders address their questions to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief as they consider his silence "strange."