Vache Terterian, the deputy minister of territorial administration, said that cross-border artillery fire by Azerbaijani troops also caused serious damage to more than 100 homes as well as other civilian infrastructure.
“A number of communities were left without electricity as a result of the shelling,” Terterian told a news conference. The national power utility has already restored electricity supply to all but one of those communities, he said.
Terterian added that the Armenian government will set up working groups to calculate financial damage to the properties. He did not say whether the government will fully or partly compensate their owners.
The fighting broke out on the night from Monday to Tuesday at sections of Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan in eastern Gegharkunik, Vayots Dzor and Syunik provinces. Azerbaijani forces shelled several local towns and villages, causing many of their residents to flee their homes.
The Syunik village of Akner was among the communities directly affected by the border clashes. An Azerbaijani shell struck a house belonging to local farmer Eduard Salbunts and his family.
“When we came out [of a shelter] the roof was already on fire … We called up the fire station and they came and put out the fire,” Salbunts said, standing outside his home that now needs urgent capital repairs.
Armenia -- Children take cover in a basement in Akner, September 14, 2022.
Many local residents took cover in their basements following the outbreak of the fighting. They complained about a lack of adequate bomb shelters in the village.
“We need a shelter so that we can keep these kids safe,” one of them, Roza Mashurian, said, pointing to her grandchildren huddling in the damp basement of their house.
On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed serious concern over “reported strikes against settlements and civilian infrastructure inside Armenia.” He raised the matter with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev during a phone call.
“We are particularly disturbed by continued reports of civilians being harmed inside Armenia,” Ned Price, the U.S. State Department spokesman, told reporters on Wednesday.
“[Blinken] urged President Aliyev to cease hostilities immediately, to disengage military forces, to pull forces back from the border, and to cease hostilities that could endanger civilians, and to work to resolve all outstanding issues between Armenia and Azerbaijan through peaceful negotiations,” said Price.