On May 19, a 3-minute video was spread on the Internet, in which the incident between the Armenian and Azerbaijani military was seen. The Azerbaijanis were pushing and cursing at the Armenians, forcing them to go in some direction.

On the same day, the Armenian Ministry of Defense first denied and then confirmed that the incident was registered on May 17, in the eastern part of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

Media.am found out exactly where the incident took place in Gegharkunik.

What happened? What information was known?

On May 12, Azerbaijani forces crossed the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in Syunik. On the same day, the news was being spread that there was progress in Gegharkunik as well.

The governor of Gegharkunik Gnel Sanosyan clarified on the same day that the enemy was carrying out positioning works in the territories under their control. This work had not been carried out before due to unfavorable weather conditions.

Two days later, in a conversation with “Azatutyun,” Sanosyan confirmed that the Azerbaijani forces had advanced in two directions in the Vardenis sector from the state border of Armenia. Verin Shorzha – 100-300 m and Around Kut settlements – about 2 km.

The Ministry of Defense denied it while it was still checking

Shortly after the video was released, the Information Control Center under the Prime Minister’s Office was informed by the Ministry of Defense that the video “has nothing to do with the recent events in Syunik and Gegharkunik.” However, they noted that the video is being studied in order to find out the real place and time.

Hours later, the same defense ministry denied this contradictory message. The study of the video revealed that the incident actually took place on May 17, 2021, in the eastern part of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. An official investigation has been appointed into the incident.

By the way, a day before the video was released, on May 18, information was spread that Azeris had beaten Armenians in Vardenis. In a conversation with “Haykakan Zhamanak” the Ministry of Defense clarified that “there were a few minutes of quarreling between the Azerbaijani Armenian soldiers that were blocked in the Vardenis sector, which quickly settled down.”

Media.am found the scene

This border incident was registered on the Gegharkunik border near Verin Shorzha with the coordinates: 40.131640,45.954549.

The snow-covered parts of the mountain slope are visible in the satellite image of May 17.

Comparing these images of the mountain, it becomes obvious that the place is the same.

The same is true in this picture.

The video was also geolocated in the same spot by Twitter user @khalfaguliyev.

Thus, the video was shot in the Gegharkunik region, near Verin Shorzha. According to the Ministry of Defense, the incident was registered on May 17, two days before the video was released.

Arshaluys Barseghyan

Ophelia Simonyan