The National Security Service confirms that today at 14:15, an Azerbaijani serviceman entered the village of Shaki in Syunik Province and shot a Armenian citizen in the leg. He has been detained.
The village head of Shaki said the victim is a local woman, and the incident occurred in the presence of her three children.
According to the NSS, two days ago, on September 29, Azerbaijan's State Security Service informed Armenia's National Security Service that a serviceman from one of Azerbaijan's military units had left his place of service under unknown circumstances. "It was not ruled out that he may have illegally crossed the border of the Republic of Armenia. After that, the competent authorities of Armenia and Azerbaijan carried out the relevant search operations," the NSS said.
The official statement does not clarify why it was not possible in the preceding days to prevent the armed Azerbaijani from entering Armenia or to detect him earlier than he reached the rural settlement. It is also unclear whether the local population was warned about the escape of the armed Azerbaijani serviceman and his crossing of Armenia's border.
Today, according to the NSS, police received a report about gunshots. "It was established that the crime was committed by the Azerbaijani serviceman, who has been detained. The details of the incident were also presented to the Azerbaijani side. A criminal proceeding has been initiated at Armenia's Investigative Committee in connection with the incident," the NSS said.
According to the Shaki village head, the injured woman's life is not in danger: "When we entered the scene, we saw traces of blood, but the woman's life is not in danger." According to him, the man he saw was not wearing military clothing, but "black trousers and boots." "He had entered that woman's house, had come out of that woman's house, had fled, he was also wounded; we followed the blood traces — when I say we went, I mean I went with the law enforcement groups, and they neutralized him."
The village head also said that he noticed a wound on the man's chest area, presumably inflicted with a knife, and that the man had an assault rifle.
This incident shows that there are still serious gaps in the system for preventing border incidents. The competent authorities of the two countries had been informed about the serviceman's escape as early as September 29, yet he reached a rural settlement unhindered and shot a person. This raises serious questions about both the effectiveness of information exchange and the provision of security for the local population.
The incident occurred against the backdrop of tensions, as the two sides try to maintain a fragile ceasefire. Such incidents can quickly escalate into broader clashes if the sides fail to show restraint and quickly investigate the incident. For now, it is unclear how the armed person crossed the border, why he was not detected in time, and whether local residents were warned about the danger.
In the coming days, it will be important to follow the course of the investigation and the reactions of both sides. How events develop will largely depend on how transparent the investigation is and whether preventive measures are taken to rule out the recurrence of such incidents.
