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Azerbaijan has accused Armenia of using children as soldiers in fighting in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh on Sunday, with photos and footage proving the war crime, the Daily Sabah reported.
“The recruitment and use of children under the age of 15 as soldiers is prohibited by international humanitarian law,” said Hikmet Hadjiev, assistant to the president of Azerbaijan and head of the foreign policy department of the presidential administration. The 1949 Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War prohibits the use of children under the age of 15 as soldiers.
As early as 2005, Yerevan also declared that according to Armenian law, citizens under the age of 18 cannot be called up for military service, even if it is voluntary. Nagorno-Karabakh has been in Azerbaijan, but has been controlled by Yerevan-backed Armenian separatists since the end of the 1994 war. The ongoing fighting, which began on September 27, marks the largest escalation of the conflict since then. Last week, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called on citizens to enlist as military volunteers to defend their country.
The Azerbaijani army, on the other hand, has said that civilians living in settlements near the combat zone should stay away from military installations to avoid potential damage. World powers, including Russia, France and the United States, have repeatedly called for a ceasefire. Turkey supports Azerbaijan.
VIDEO – Footage reportedly shows Armenia’s use of child soldiers, prohibited by international law, as Aliyev’s aide calls for an investigationpic.twitter.com/e00QU14JeV
– DAILY SABAH (@DailySabah) October 25, 2020
Azerbaijan
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