Captured Armenian servicemen

1 Nagorno-Karabakh

The Armenian Defense Ministry reported that on Tuesday evening, under unknown circumstances, the communication was lost with the servicemen, stationed on a number of combat positions of the defensive army of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The positions are located near the villages of Hin Taher and Htsaberd, in the Hadrut region. «The search went on for all night and this morning. We are taking active steps, with a help from the Russian peacekeepers, in order to clarify the likelihood of a capture of the Armenian servicemen. In case of a confirmation of the capture — all the necessary measures will be taken» — the Armenian Defense Ministry stated.

2 Nagorno-Karabakh

The RIA NEWS reported that the president of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Arayik Harutyunyan, confirmed the information about dozens of Armenian servicemen who were captured near the village of Htsaberd, in the Hadrut region. «Several dozens of our servicemen were taken prisoner near the village of Hhtsaberd. Currently the Ministry of Defense is investigating the circumstances» — the RIA NEWS quoted Harutyunyan. He promised to do everything possible for the swift and safe return of the prisoners. The RIA NEWS reported that the human rights defender in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Artak Beglaryan, stated that according to the preliminary data — «about 60 servicemen from several units went missing near the village of Htsaberd”.

3 Afghanistan

The Afghan TV channel ’Ariana News’ reported while citing their sources that the Taliban attacked a checkpoint in Baglan province. As a result — 13 Afghan soldiers were killed, 5 were injured. According to the Ariana News — the attack took place in the Wazirabad district of Puli-Humri, the administrative center of the northern province of Baglan, located at the intersection of strategically important roads. The Puli Humri police have confirmed the Taliban attack. The 1TV reported while citing a source on Twitter that the Taliban made an attack in Uruzgan province, in central Afghanistan. According to the 1TV — at least 13 policemen were killed.

4 The UN

The TASS news agency reported while citing their source that the UN Security Council appointed the Bulgarian diplomat Nikolai Mladenov as the new UN secretary general’s special envoy for Libya. Norwegian Thor Vennesland was approved as the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. On Tuesday, the Security Council held closed consultations to assess the work of the UN Support Mission to Libya. It was noted that the Security Council expressed gratitude for the work of the acting special envoy of the UN Secretary General, Stephanie Williams who led the negotiation process between the parties of the conflict for more than 8 months, during the absence of the special envoy. The Security Council members «are awaiting a report from the Secretary General with proposals for the effective implementation of the monitoring of the ceasefire in Libya, under the UN flag».

5 Turkey

The Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan stated that the US sanctions, imposed on Ankara due to the purchase of the Russian AA systems S-400s, are an attack on the Turkish sovereign rights. According to him — the sanctions are aimed at making Turkey more dependent in the defense industry. “We will work twice as hard to make our defense industry even more independent” — Erdogan promised at the opening ceremony of the second section of the Ankara-Nigde highway. The speech was broadcast by the NTV channel.

6 Iran

The Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stated that Tehran is happy about the defeat of Donald Trump in the US presidential elections. Rouhani called Trump «a man who committed crimes, killed people, and was a terrorist». The Iranian President expressed his hope that «the vote of the US people for Biden is a vote in favor of a compliance with the laws, not a violation of them. Those were the votes for the fulfilling of obligations, not their rejection» — Rouhani concluded. Constantine Reztsov, specially for ANNA NEWS.