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The Azerbaijani troops stole 4 livestock animals owned by the residents of the village of Hin Shen in the Shushi region, Artsakh Human Rights Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan said in a statement on Saturday.

"Within the framework of the visit to the Hin Shen community of the Shushi region, I held meetings with the community head and local residents to get acquainted with their problems.

“The village had 187 inhabitants before the war, of whom only 86 live permanently in the village now. The main obstacle to the return of villagers and the restoration of normal life in the village is the presence of the Azerbaijani armed forces on the adjacent hill, which holds a dominant position over the village,” the ombudsman said.

The Azerbaijani military base deployed on a hill near the village poses an imminent and undeniable threat to the life, physical and mental integrity of the Hin Shen residents, he underlined.

“The presence of the Azerbaijani armed forces in those areas creates security risks and a direct threat to agricultural activities, in particular, haymaking, use of pastures and maintenance of beehives.

“On July 29 and August 2, 4 livestock animals owned by the residents of the Hin Shen community of Shushi were stolen. According to the villagers, the animals were illegally taken by the Azerbaijani military serving in the mentioned base.

“As a result of discussions with law enforcement agencies, I found out that the report of the Shushi administration head on the incident addressed to the prosecutor general has already been forwarded to the police of the Artsakh Ministry of Internal Affairs.

“There is no doubt that the competent authorities of the Republic of Artsakh should start negotiations, with the mediation of Russian peacekeepers, on removing the above-mentioned base from the vicinity of the village to restore the normal life of the residents, guarantee their rights and security,” the statement read.