Three Armenian villages face threat of blockade after border demarcation

The road from Kapan to Agarak came under the control of Azerbaijan, and as a result, residents of the villages of Agarak, Uzhanis, and Yegvard found themselves in a partial blockade due to the poor condition of the alternative road, Gevorg Parsyan, Mayor of Kapan, has stated in the Armenian parliament today. He proposed to equip residents of the border villages with hunting rifles.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the start of talks on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border demarcation, which was not carried out due to the Karabakh conflict, has been scheduled for December.

Today, at the parliament, Kapan Mayor Gevorg Parsyan has stated that local residents can no longer use the road from Kapan to Agarak, since one of its sections is under the control of Azerbaijan. The other two roads, from Kapan to Goris and from Kapan to Chakaten, are still open, but the safety of their use is questionable, since the Azerbaijani armed forces are deployed 100 meters from the residential area of Syunik and a kilometre from Kapan.

There is an alternative road from Kapan to Agarak, but it is much longer and requires repair. Moreover, it can hardly be used in winter. Thus, residents of the villages of Agarak, Uzhanis, and Yegvard found themselves in the blockade in a certain sense, Gevorg Parsyan claimed in the parliament as quoted by the "News.Am.

The Mayor of Kapan suggested permitting residents of the border villages in the Syunik Region to possess hunting rifles. "You can come up with a legislative initiative to arm the men of our villages, which will give our citizens additional confidence," said Gevorg Parsyan as quoted by the "Armenpress".

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 25, 2020 at 03:27 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.