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Armenia’s former Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan says a bypass road in Syunik Province cannot be used at this point because it is also targeted by Azerbaijani troops.

"As a result of the Armenian government’s irresponsible work and Azerbaijan’s criminal conduct, it is no longer possible to use the alternative Kapan-Chakaten road in Syunik Province because the government built it so that it is in the crosshairs of the Azerbaijani military,” he wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.

Tatoyan underlined that the road was targeted by Azerbaijan troops after they began shelling Armenian positions just after midnight on Tuesday, adding an ambulance on the road also came under Azeri fire.

“By shelling the alternative road and preventing its use, the Azerbaijani troops are deliberately creating humanitarian problems for settlements and civilians in Syunik in an effort to cut them off [from the rest of Armenia],” he stated.

“The Armenian government began building the bypass road after the Azerbaijani military illegally blocked the main Kapan-Chakaten highway, instead of driving them out of the area.

“Moreover, the deputy prime minister, MPs from the ruling party and other officials started to make irresponsible statements meeting their own political and personal interests, downplaying the deployment of Azeri troops and claiming that the road itself was safe,” the ex-ombudsman said.

Tatoyan states he raised concerns over the safety of the new road during his tenure as Armenian ombudsman, stressing the need for the withdrawal of illegally deployed Azerbaijani soldiers from the Kapan-Chakaten highway.

“At the time, the mayor's office of Kapan offered the government as a temporary solution to build a road passing through another area (I personally drove through all these places), which was quite safe and did not require much investment, but the cabinet rejected the proposal, without giving any reason,” he said.

Tatoyan also shared photos showing the illegal deployment of Azerbaijani forces, the main Kapan-Chakaten road and the alternative road being built by the government taken a few months ago.

“The facts collected so far also show that Azerbaijani troops are firing at the villages of Nerkin Hand, Shikahogh and Srashen of the Kapan community,” he said.

Our sources report that the wounded cannot be evacuated from the villages because the Azerbaijanis continue to target the road.