In a conversation with Forrights.am, Anna Martirosyan, a resident of Chankatagh village of Martakert region, NK, presented what happened on September 19, 2023. She and her four minor children barely managed to save themselves from being killed by the Azerbaijanis. They came under fire and the seven-year-old boy was injured.
“I had put the children to sleep, I was talking to my friend. She was telling that the situation was serious and they hit hard at that moment. The impact was so close that the windows rattled. In a few minutes we heard the second loud sound,” says Anna, remembering the start of the war.
After leaving the house, Anna goes with her children to a ditch dug by her husband in the neighborhood, which was intended for civilians to take shelter during wars. “On the way, we see that there are already 40 people in the hole intended for 15 people. I cannot describe what the situation was… people were crying. There were children who escaped through the windows without shoes, came there, people came into that hole from home without taking documents. We stayed there for about an hour.”
When they see that the enemy is approaching Chankatagh, they decide that they should also leave that shelter. “We saw them coming down from the mountain. They had blown up our positions and were coming. My husband and his friends were already in the village, fighting the enemy from their houses.”
Anna tells that the Azerbaijanis targeted and opened fire in the direction of the car with children and women. His mother-in-law and 7-year-old son were injured.
“We all piled into my friend’s husband’s car to go to the next village; they hit us on the way. My mother-in-law’s blood spilled on the floor of the car; glass shards fell into my son’s neck. The car broke down, it could not go forward. When we saw that there was no option, it gave a signal for the Russians to open the gates so that we could enter their base.”
According to Anna Martirosyan, they stayed there for several days without bread and water. “On the first day, they gave candy and juice to the children. The next day there was no water. The Russians said they had no food.”
They were left without water and food in the hiding place of the Russian base. They were also deprived of the right to speak, because the Russians said that the Azerbaijanis were in the area, they would listen to their conversations. “Three times the children remained petrified for an hour, they did not make a sound: the Azerbaijanis were coming and going in their cars. The Russians said, “Sit quietly, otherwise they will come here to kill you and we can’t do anything.”
Anna and her wounded son were transported by armored carrier to Martakert, where she learns that they would be forcibly deported from Artsakh. Anna describes the chaotic situation in Martakert: people on the streets, children looking for their parents, hospitals full of wounded and victims. “My son and I went to my husband’s brother’s house in Martakert, but were afraid to stay there. We went to the hospital. We went to enter the basement to sleep there, but there was terrible smell there; it smelled like corpse. My son asked, ‘What is this smell?’ I said, ‘Nothing, let’s go upstairs.’ The next night, we wanted to go again the to sleep in the hospital, but my brother-in-laws son didn’t let us; he said that the smell is already coming from the second floor too. I convinced my son to stay there.”
After staying in Martakert for three days, the people of Artsakh were told to leave the city, because the enemy has already invaded Martakert. “On September 24, we come to Stepanakert, we see enemy soldiers near Drombon. They make fun of us, they say things in their language, they take pictures of us. There were around 40 people. We reached Stepanakert. The situation was terrible. I met some people from our village. I found my husband. Everyone was leaving Stepanakert. So did we with everyone else.”
Narek Kirakosyan