We Did Not Fire at the Population and Allowed Them Quietly to Live: a Participant of Berdzor Liberation Operation

• 05.18.2017, 11:12
•  Armenia,  NKR,  Interview

On the 25^h anniversary of Lachin (Berdzor) liberation "Armedia" IIA presents an exclusive interview with a participant of the  liberation operation  of Berdzor, an artillerist from Goris Styopa Mkrtchyan

- Mr. Mkrtchyan how did the liberation of Lachin become possible. What made its possible?

- The liberation operation of Lachin started from the liberation of Shushi. On May 8, 1992, when we launched an attack on Shushi, the enemy started shelling Tegh, Kornidzor, Khnatsakh villages in Goris region of Armenia from Lachin, as a result of which there were civilian casualties.

 On the same day we started to fire at Lachin from Tegh village to make the Azerbaijanis stop the shelling of our settlements. We continued the artillery fire until the rest of our forces moved down from Lisagor. We did our best to help them by the artillery fire from the villages in Goris, until they were able to safely move down.  

Our detachments met already under Kornidzor. Already on May 18 we came and entered Lachin. From Goris mostly the artillerists from Tegh village and Goris Polytechnic University participated under my supervision.

- What interesting events will you remember from the liberation of Lachin?

- There was Mikend village in Lachin region. The population of Mikend left the village in our presence in 3-4km from us in front of Kornidzor. We did not fire at the population at all and allowed them quietly to live. The war is with the army not with the peaceful residents.

Reference

Berdzor (Lachin) is a town and administrative center in Kashatagh region in the Republic of Artsakh (in the middle stream basin of the Hagar River at an altitude of 1000-1200 meters. The population of Berdzor is  2,300.

25 years ago, on May 18, 1992, Armenian forces liberated the town of Berdzor (Lachin); the town of vital importance connecting Armenia with Artsakh.

The road through the town, the corridor of Lachin, is considered the most convenient "vein" connecting the two republics. At that time it was a "life" corridor for Artsakh.

The liberation of Berdzor made the dream of the Armenian people come true, the desired union which was the slogan of the new liberation struggle and the cry of the Armenians’ blood.

NKR was in a terrible situation. Electricity and gas supplies were halted. Minimum amount of ammunition, food and medicine were delivered by civil aviation.

However when through the bypassing road the traffic from Berdzor to Goris restarted the Azerbaijani detachments along with the local population hurried to leave Lachin.