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Disgusting videos that see the light of day from Nagorno-Karabakh, where clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia are raging in the disputed region, are causing disgust.
According to its publication BBCOne video posted on a messaging app reportedly shows two Armenians in military uniforms being captured by Azerbaijani troops, while a second shows the two men with their hands behind their backs being executed.
Armenian authorities identified the men, and Azerbaijan claimed the videos were false.
The Council of Europe, the leading human rights observer, has said it has received the videos and will investigate any alleged human rights violations.
The ceasefire announced on October 10 and again on October 18 was not observed and the attacks continued. The collapse of the two ceasefire agreements has dashed hopes for an immediate end to the war in the region.
In fact, several thousand people are said to have been killed and the shelling has killed civilians in both Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The videos in question
The first video shows the two captive Armenians. Someone speaking Russian with a strong Azeri accent orders the men to advance, lay down their weapons and raise their hands. He is heard talking to the other Azeri soldiers, telling them not to beat the prisoners.
The youngest inmate removes his helmet and jacket before raising his hands in the air. Although the older man is wearing a military camouflage jacket, it is unclear if he is a soldier. They push him to the ground and he seems to be crying in pain.
According to the BBC, the first video was followed by a second showing the execution of the two men. The detainees appear to have their hands tied behind their backs and dressed in the flags of Armenia and the unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh.
They sit on a small terrace and move slightly. Then someone gives the horrible command “Aim for their heads”. Bursts are fired and the detainees fall to the ground.
Is it genuine?
The British network confirmed that the person giving orders in both videos has Azerbaijani as his mother tongue and even has a local accent. The detainees in the first video also appear to be the same men executed in the second, as they wear the same clothing.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry denied it was its troops and called the videos a provocation. In fact, the clips were removed a bit later.
The following day, the Azerbaijani attorney general announced that an investigation had concluded that the videos were false.
The BBC studied the videos and confirmed that they were recorded in Hadrut, a city in southern Nagorno-Karabakh that is being tested by heavy fighting.
The videos may have been shot sometime between October 9-15. Azerbaijan announced that Hadrut had been captured on October 9, although it was later learned that while they had taken some strategic points around the city, the battle for control of the city continued until at least October 12.
According to the same source, the helmets and rifles that the soldiers appear to be carrying coincide with those used, at least in some cases, by the Azerbaijani soldiers.
In Azerbaijan, the authenticity of the videos has been questioned, pointing to the apparent lack of blood after the shooting, but military experts who spoke to the BBC say the video appears genuine.
“Hollywood is showing a bad reflection of what gunshot wounds look like,” said Rob Lee, a military expert with the Department of War Studies at King’s College London.
“These are live bullets, this is actual murder.” This is genuine and I see no reason to suppose it was targeted, “added a former British intelligence official.
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