Artsakh’s Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan on Wednesday said that as a result of Azerbaijan’s large-scale attack on Artsakh on Tuesday, 200 people were killed and over 400 people were injured, among them children.
“The number of injured people among the civilian population exceeds 400 people, of whom 13 are children. There are 10 confirmed civilian deaths at the moment, among whom five are children,” Stepanyan explained in a social media post on Wednesday.
He also said that 10,000 people were evacuated during the attack from their cities and forced to find shelter in other areas of Artsakh.
“Among them are women, children and elderly, many of whom have been displaced for several times in their life already due to the Azerbaijani aggression. With no proper food, medication, hygiene essentials — this is a national catastrophe in real time and a gross violation of all fundamental human rights,” Stepanyan wrote, adding that his office will continue its fact-finding activities.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia said Wednesday that some 2,000 Artsakh civilians had sought shelter at the Russian peacekeeping command in the Stepanakert airport. He pledged that the peacekeepers were doing their utmost to ensure their safe return to their homes and finding alternate housing for them.