Armenian PM announces changes in military after soldier’s death UPDATED

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has announced personnel changes in the military following the death of another soldier during peacetime.

Pashinyan said he discussed the situation with Defence Minister Suren Papikyan earlier in the morning, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

“I have already made a decision: there will be changes in the military police, particularly in the Department of Moral and Psychological Work. We will conduct a detailed analysis of why the efforts made in this area have failed to produce the desired results. Conclusions will be drawn, and those responsible will be punished,” Pashinyan noted.

He stressed that his criticism did not concern the chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces or the defence minister.

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The body of an Armenian serviceman, Edgar Zakaryan, was found at one of the country’s military units with a gunshot wound, Armenia’s Defence Ministry said.

Armenian media outlets, cited by Caliber.Az, said the Defence Ministry had confirmed Zakaryan’s death.

The incident marks the second reported death of an Armenian soldier during peacetime in the past month. In July, the death of conscript Narek Torosyan was reported.

No further details about the circumstances surrounding Zakaryan’s death were immediately provided.

By Tamilla Hasanova