Bodies of 29 Killed Soldiers Handed Over to Armenia

YEREVAN — The bodies of 29 Armenian servicemen killed in action during the ongoing hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh have been handed over to the Armenian side, Armenia’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

According to Defense Ministry spokesperson Shushan Stepanian, the transfer took place on October 29 “with the exceptional mediation efforts of the Russian Federation, and with the participation of the field team of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).”

She said that at the same time the ICRC efforts have resulted in one civilian’s repatriation to Armenia.

“In its turn, the Armenian side, adhering to the arrangements reached within the framework of the humanitarian ceasefire, once again reiterates its readiness to hand over to the Azerbaijani side the bodies of Azerbaijani servicemen in the territory of Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh – ed.], and to start the process of recovery of bodies in the inter-positional zone throughout the entire Artshakh-Azerbaijan frontline of hostilities, as well as exchange of information on POWs and their respective handover in future,” Stepanian wrote in a Facebook post.

Earlier today the Defense Ministry of Nagorno-Karabakh confirmed the deaths of 51 more Armenian soldiers, taking its military death toll to 1,116 since fighting with Azerbaijani forces broke out on September 27.

Azerbaijan does not disclose its military losses, but authorities in Baku say the fighting has killed 69 civilians and wounded 322. Armenian authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh have also reported dozens of civilians killed and wounded since the start of the hostilities.