Azerbaijani forces reportedly advanced a few kilometers into Armenian territory at several sections of the border between the two states in May. Despite a resulting tense standoff with Armenian army units deployed there, there were initially no reports of armed clashes between the two sides.
Amateur videos circulated online in the following weeks showed instead armed Armenian and Azerbaijani soldiers coming to blows and chasing each other away from contested border posts without firing gunshots. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian spoke of a series of such incidents when he addressed the Armenian parliament later in May.
The incidents fuelled opposition claims that Armenian soldiers were ordered not to shoot at advancing Azerbaijani forces. They were stoked by a November 14 incident in Armenia’s Syunik province where Armenian troops were reportedly forced to vacate two border outposts without putting up any resistance. Pashinian fired Defense Minister Arshak Karapetian the following morning.
At least 13 soldiers from both sides were killed in heavy fighting that broke out at a nearby border section on November 16. About three dozen other Armenian soldiers were taken prisoner as a result.
ARMENIA -- Azerbaijani (L) and Armenian checkpoints at the Sotk gold mine on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, Gegharkunik province, June 18, 2021
Speaking in the National Assembly on November 17, Pashinian insisted that neither he nor any other official had ever issued no-shoot orders. He insisted that such orders would be tantamount to high treason.
Deputy Defense Minister Arman Sargsian echoed those assurances on Tuesday during a meeting of the parliament committee on defense and security. “No-shoot orders were definitely not issued by any official,” he told opposition members of the committee.
At least one of the opposition lawmakers, Gegham Manukian, remained unconvinced. He said the fistfights on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border suggest that the Armenian military was indeed ordered not to open fire.
Meanwhile, the Armenian Defense Ministry pointedly declined to confirm or deny reports that Azerbaijani troops have pulled back from one of the contested border areas occupied by them in May.