Rights defenders argue about aim of bringing Azeri fire-fighters into villages near Lachin Corridor

As stated by Rasul Djafarov, a Baku-based human rights defender, the area of the Lachin Corridor was occupied not by militaries, but civil defence members, who perform protection functions. In his turn, Arthur Sakunts, an Armenian human rights defender, is sure that the deployment of Azerbaijani fire-fighters in Berdzor is an instrument of pressure.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 20, all the residents left the community of Nerkin Sus, while a few families still stay in the town of Berdzor (the Azerbaijani name is Lachin) and the village Akhavno (Zabukh). These territories will be handed over to Azerbaijan on August 25. Local residents have complained that they were given very little time to find new housing and evacuate.

The entry of Azerbaijani fire-fighters into the part of the Lachin District, which is still under responsibility of Russian peacemakers, is quite legitimate, Rasul Djafarov, the head of the Baku Human Rights Club (BHRC), asserts. According to his story, the deployment of fire-fighters in the territory could not cause any new confrontation.

"Fire-fighters are not army units, but civil defence forces; they don't perform any punitive functions," Mr Djafarov has noted.

In his turn, Arthur Sakunts, the head of the Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Civil Assembly, has noted that Baku and Russian peacemakers are no security guarantee of the Armenian population. Moreover, the tripartite agreement doesn't demand people to leave their own houses, Mr Sakunts has added.

The public part of the agreements fails to fix specific deadlines, in particular, the eviction of Armenians from Lachin, Mikhail Alexandrov, a political analyst, has remarked.