CDSI states death of 12 Azerbaijani soldiers since the start of 2015

During the period from January 1 to March 8, 2015, the losses of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces made 12 persons, said experts of the Caspian Defence Studies Institute (CDSI).

According to Jasur Sumerinli, one of the founders of the CDSI, due to the pressure of the authorities, in September 2014, he was forced "to leave Azerbaijan and work abroad in one of European countries." The Institute intends to "conduct monitoring of the human rights situation in the armed forces, and social well-being of militaries and civilian employees," he reported to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to the report of the CDSI, since the beginning of 2015, eight soldiers were killed in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict zone; and four others perished in non-combat conditions.

Seven soldiers, according to the CDSI, were killed by bullets of the enemy on the frontline; and one was blown up by a landmine.

Besides, five soldiers of Azerbaijan were wounded since the start of the year.

The CDSI points to the "difficulties of monitoring losses as compared with previous years."

"In most cases, the Ministry of Defence and other power agencies tend not to provide information about the losses under the guise of 'military secrets'," says the statement. Therefore, the CDSI believes that "the real count of combat and non-combat losses may be higher."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.