A mother from Mokhratagh set out on a journey of evacuation, hoping to reach Armenia and find her wounded son in one of the Yerevan hospitals. 65-year-old Anahit Sargsyan’s son, Gevorg, has been going up to positions with the militia every month to defend Martakert, NK. On September 19, 2023, Gevorg was called to positions a week early: they said there was a need for personnel, and Gevorg went.
“I said, ‘Gevorg, don’t go; where are you leaving your six children?’ He said, ‘Mom, if I stay home, hide, who will guard our positions, who will defend our homeland? It is OK, I am going, nothing will happen,’” in an interview with Forrights.am, the mother recalled the conversation she had with her son before he went to positions.
On September 19, at 11:00, Gevorg called the family. According to his father, 70-year-old Alyosha Sargsyan, he said that a war could break out.
“He said, ‘If something happens, you get out in cars.’ He called again at 11:30, but we couldn’t talk, there was no connection.’ At 12:00, a shell exploded above the village, I realized that it was a sign of fighting. Then several more exploded on the other side. Everything exploded. There was no communication,” this is how the residents of Mokhratagh learned that the Azerbaijani military had attacked civilians.
The sounds of explosions caused a commotion in Mokhratagh, and children and women were taken to the basements. Gevorg’s father, despite the shooting, went out to find out any information about his son.
“I suspected that Gevorg was killed: his position was 30-40 meters away from the enemy position, it was the most dangerous post. There were 8 people in the position, and there were hundreds of the enemy. They were armed in every way. They said that the Russians were there, there would not be fight here, they were guarding us. But, in fact, it all was their doings. They left and fled on the morning of September 19. Their commander too deceived them: he didn’t stay with them, and now he is gone; has left for Russia. They should have warned that there would be a fight. About 40 people were gathered in the middle of the village, talking. I understood that they were talking about our boys, they said, it’s over, they are gone. The enemy was still shooting, everywhere. I saw my other son coming with the commander. I asked him, what’s up there, he said, everything is finished. I ask if the Russians didn’t help, he says they helped the enemy,” said Alyosha Sargsyan.
The family had to be forcibly evacuated from Mokhratagh on September 25, without any news from Gevorg. “We set off, we were going, but my mind and thoughts were behind me, that my son is not with us. I call the commandant, I say Gevorg is not there, you tell me to get out of the house, go? He replies that they had sent him to Yerevan,” says Mrs. Anahit, emphasizing that she left her home and place in the hope of meeting her son in Yerevan. Despite the commander’s claims that her son was in Yerevan, the mother, upon reaching Stepanakert, searched for Gevorg in all the hospitals.
“We reached Masis, I called the commandant again, I said where is my son? His children are little, they want their father. He said that if we get to Yerevan, we will find him. On the 27th of September, my sons searched for Gevorg in all the hospitals, but didn’t find him. Then they said there was a morgue where they brought boys from Artsakh. My son went and found his brother. My other son, Garik, came home and said, ‘Our Gevorg is gone,’ he said he wasn’t wounded, he was killed,” the mother said.
The parents note that Gevorg fought to the end with two friends: they did not retreat, although it was doable.
“My son was wounded. If there were help, he could have been saved, but there was none. When 50-60 people attacked a position of eight people, our guys resisted, but a few people, seeing that it was hard, left and went to Martakert. Three remained, one of whom was my son, and they started fighting. My son said, ‘I will not be captured.’ He fought to the end and was killed. The enemy then came and entered the trench and shot the boys so many times that it was impossible for us to recognize them,” the parents say.
Gevorg was buried on October 5, his daughter’s birthday, October 19 is his little boy’s birthday, and October 1 is his own birthday, the mother notes sadly.
“We take the children to Yerablur. They want to see their daddy. They say, ‘Daddy, why did you leave us alone? We can’t do without you. We miss you,'” said the mother.
Gevorg has six children, five of whom are minors. They live in difficult social conditions. We will address this topic in our next publication.
Narek Kirakosyan
