Stepanakert residents refuse to leave their shelters amid threat of shelling attacks

At night and this morning, an air raid alarm was heard in Stepanakert, and the city was shelled. Women, children, and elderly residents of the city are staying in shelters, while men are on the front lines or clear rubbles. Five residents of Nagorno-Karabakh were killed after the ceasefire had been announced, Artak Beglaryan, Ombudsman of Nagorno-Karabakh, reported.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the fighting in the conflict zone began on September 27, and at midday on October 10, a ceasefire agreement in the conflict zone entered into force. However, the parties continued accusing each other of violating the ceasefire.

Nelly Grigoryan, a resident of Stepanakert, says that during shelling attacks, she is hiding in a shelter under her house, which was not badly damaged: only windows were shattered. Several other people whose houses are more seriously damaged are staying in the shelter together with Nelly Grigoryan. "At night, an air raid alarm was heard a couple of times. We treat such situation as calm, compared to bombings last week and over the weekend," says the city resident.

She has also added that young men are still on the front lines, while older men are clearing rubbles and rebuilding the city during the day.

Today, at 7:27 a.m., an air raid alarm has been heard in Stepanakert during five minutes. Such duration of the air raid alarm might mean that a reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was detected by radars, the RIA "Novosti" reported. In the morning, several bomb explosions were heard in Stepanakert, the TASS reported.

At a briefing held in the evening on October 11, Artak Beglaryan, Ombudsman of Nagorno-Karabakh, reported that during the entire period of the hostilities, 25 civilians were killed and more than 100 others were injured. The number of 25 victims includes a child and nine women, while children, women, and elderly people were also injured, the Ombudsman of Nagorno-Karabakh reported. Five civilians were killed after the ceasefire had come into force, the Ombudsman emphasized.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 12, 2020 at 02:42 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.