Azerbaijan marks five years since Armenia’s missile strike on Barda

It has been five years since the Armenian armed forces carried out yet another missile strike on the city of Barda during the Second Karabakh War.

As Caliber.Az recalls, on October 28, 2020, enemy forces launched Smerch missiles at densely populated areas of the city, where private and apartment buildings, as well as commercial facilities, were located.

As a result of the strikes carried out by Armenia using cluster munitions banned under international law, 21 residents of Barda, including an employee of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, were killed, and around 70 others were injured.

Several civilian facilities were destroyed, vehicles were damaged, and residents suffered severe material losses.

The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan initiated a criminal case under Articles 100.2 (conducting an aggressive war), 120.2.1 (premeditated murder committed by a criminal organisation), 120.2.4 (premeditated murder committed with special cruelty or by a means dangerous to the public), 120.2.12 (premeditated murder motivated by national, racial, religious hatred or enmity), and other articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.

During the Second Karabakh War, Armenian forces shelled the Barda district and the city itself with missiles and artillery three times — on October 5, 27, and 28. As a result, 29 people were killed, 112 were injured, and significant damage was inflicted on civilian infrastructure and vehicles.