Lawyer: Armenian command errors led to loss of position during Second Karabakh War

The command of the D-20 artillery division of the Armenian occupation forces in Karabakh made significant errors in defense during the 44-day war. The unit repeatedly abandoned positions and retreated without coordination with higher command.

The remarks were made by Arsen Sardaryan, the lawyer of the former commander of the Armenian occupation contingent, Lt-Gen Jalal Harutyunyan, at a press conference on April 15, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

According to Sardaryan, the situation was known to the Chief of Artillery of the Karabakh separatist forces, General Gennady Bagdasaryan, who insisted on advancing because the chosen retreat point, in his opinion, did not provide proper fire support for the infantry units.

Lawyer Arsen Sardaryan presented in detail the events that led to Harutyunyan's criminal liability. The essence of the accusation is that, in a complicated battle situation, Harutyunyan assured his subordinates that a group approaching the artillery position was "ours," when, in fact, it was a group of Azerbaijani Armed Forces. As a result, the position was lost by the Armenian troops. Witnesses reported that Harutyunyan first said "ours," and then said "possibly ours." The lawyer believes that the commander could have based his judgment on information provided by the regimental and divisional commands, which in turn were based on intelligence data. In conditions where the Armenian army had information about the breakthrough of the front line by sabotage-reconnaissance groups of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, as well as the presence of deserters, it was impossible to make definitive claims. Moreover, there was a conflict between the regimental and divisional commands, and the overall situation was extremely confusing.

On the same day, Azerbaijani forces struck Armenian artillery positions in the Fuzuli district. As a result, 20 Armenian servicemen were killed, seven others were wounded, and the whereabouts of the divisional artillery commander, Lieutenant Colonel Norair Ayrapetyan, remain unknown.

After the retreat, the positions of the Armenian division were left with 8 D-20 guns, 4 Ural vehicles, a large amount of ammunition and weapons, as well as documents containing confidential information.

The lawyer emphasized that such actions by the division were not accidental. He stated that even before the events in the village of Juvarly, signs of disorganization and panic were observed within the unit, which were difficult for Bagdasaryan to handle. To presumably prevent the personnel from panicking and fleeing, Bagdasaryan passed on information to the divisional command that "our forces are at those positions," based on statements from other officers, including Harutyunyan.

"Perhaps different officers, including Jalal Harutyunyan, told him: 'There may be ours there' or 'There should be ours.' Based on these words, he conveyed to the divisional command that 'they are ours,' to prevent the personnel from fleeing," the lawyer explained.

"The court essentially rejected the experts' conclusions, citing the exhaustion of the personnel and the lack of technical capability to organize defense—digging trenches, setting up observers, and so on. However, the case materials point to something else," the lawyer emphasized.

It is worth noting that Jalal Harutyunyan led the Karabakh separatist forces during the main period of the 44-day war until October 27, 2020, when he was severely wounded. After that, the command was transferred to General Mikael Arzumanyan.

By Khagan Isayev