Three Armenian Soldiers Found Dead at a Border Post

YEREVAN — The bodies of three Armenian conscripts with gunshot wounds have been found at a military post in the south-eastern part of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in Syunik region.

The Armenian Defense Ministry said on Thursday morning that circumstances of the deaths of 19-year-old privates Murad Muradyan, Levon Harutyunyan and Gor Sahakyan are being investigated.

It said the bodies of the three servicemen were found at about 2:15 am.

“The Defense Ministry shares the grief of the loss and expresses support to the families, relatives and colleagues of the killed servicemen,” the statement issued by the ministry reads.

The Defense Ministry said that at least based on the preliminary information available at this moment there is no indication that the incident is connected with any attack by the Azerbaijani military, in particular, a commando raid, as has been claimed by some local media.

In a further official statement issued today the ministry warned Armenian media against “circulating information about the Syunik incident that does not correspondent to the facts.”

The ministry urged all to “follow only official information, not to spread false information about the causes of the incident and the injuries sustained by the killed servicemen.”

“The dissemination of such information is beneficial only to the adversary. An investigation is underway, which will fully clarify all the circumstances of the case, and relevant information will be provided to the public in due manner,” the Defense Ministry said.