Armenia 'launches probe' into Azerbaijani aggression and war crimes  

The crimes committed as part of the aggressive war, ordered by Azerbaijan's politico-military leadership and waged by that country's armed forces, are well-documented and proven facts under the criminal cases and preceding inquests initiated by the law enforcement authorities of Armenia, a deputy prosecutor general said today.

According to Vahe Harutyunyan, the ongoing hostilities are the continuation of the skirmishes recorded on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border back in July. "One civilian was killed on Armenia's territory in that period, with three other - including a minor - sustaining bodily injuries. Five servicemen were fatally shot and 11 others, who were not involved in military actions, were injured," he told a news conference.

Harutyunyan noted that especially civilian settlements behind rare positions became the objects of premeditated and targeted attacks that kept different facilities, communications, transportation and other means under focus.  

"The Prosecutor General's Office is actively collaborating with international colleagues, particularly the Office of the Public Prosecutor of Russia and colleagues in Iran, and has already submitted available evidence," he said, adding that their current work is focused on identifying the mercenaries fighting on behalf of Azerbaijan (to prevent their penetration into Nagorno-Karabakh).

Harutyunyan said they have about two dozen cases dealing with aggression and war crimes under their proceeding. Meantime he ruled out the possibility of war crimes against the Armed Forces of Armenia. "[Any war crime] is targeted against civilian settlements and the civilian population," he added.