Houses of two Nagorno-Karabakh communities damaged by shelling

On Friday (February 11), Azerbaijani militaries shelled residential buildings in the communities of Tagavard and Karmir Shouka (Red Bazaar), in which they damaged windows, roofs and walls; however, the situation in the villages is calm, Gegam Stepanyan, the Nagorno-Karabakh Ombudsperson, has informed. In Karmir Shouka, a bullet hit the house where a large family lives, but they don't intend to leave it.

The village of Karmir Shouka (Red Bazaar) in the Martuni District is shelled daily from the Azerbaijani party, despite the presence of peacemakers; and local residents are afraid to take their children to the kindergarten, villagers have explained.

"On February 11, from the Azerbaijani positions located near the communities of Tagavard and Karmir Shouka, fire was opened in the direction of residential buildings. Given the distance from Azerbaijani positions to the villages ... it is undeniable that Azerbaijani militaries targeted civilians' houses, as a result of which walls and roofs were damaged," the Ombudsperson Stepanyan wrote on the Facebook, noting that as a result of the shelling, the window of the house of a resident of Karmir Shouka was knocked out, and the bullet hit the living room, where there were three children and a woman.

According to Mr Stepanyan, the attacks "are of a regular nature and are aimed at creating an atmosphere of fear and despair." He has called on the international community to condemn the Azerbaijan's actions.

Arev Gabrielyan, the owner of the damaged house, said that her family did not intend to leave the house. "There is no safe place in the village; all the houses are visible from the Azerbaijani military posts … Our house is shelled not for the first time. Not so long ago, our relatives' house was also shelled," the woman has added.