Azerbaijani servicemen have stolen 8 cows and 1 bull belonging to 3 families of the village of Davit Bek in Armenia's Syunik province, Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan said in a statement on Tuesday, August 3.

This is not the first time for the Azerbaijani forces to steal cattle from Armenians. In some cases, negotiations result in them returning the animals, but in most cases, all efforts are futile.

The Office of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia received information, according to which 4 cows belonging to two families of the village were taken to pasture in the administrative territory of the neighboring Chakaten village on July 26.

While grazing, the animals approached the area under the control of the Azerbaijani armed forces. After that, the Azerbaijani servicemen tied the animals to their section without allowing them to return, and for about 5 days the residents could see through binoculars that the cows were in an area called "Chambar", and on August 1, the animals were gone.

On August 2, the Office of the Human Rights Defender received another alarm, that on July 14, a resident of Davit Bek took 6 large cattle (1 bull, 5 cows) belonging to 3 villagers to graze in the pasture about 1.5 km away from the village. The villager left the pasture for a short time, shortly after returning to find that five of the animals were missing and that one of the cows was returning from the side controlled by the Azerbaijani armed forces with a rope tied around his head (he took the animals to graze without a rope).

From distance, he noticed how the Azerbaijani soldiers were pushing the animals to the depths of areas they control.

In both cases, the residents informed the heads of the administrative districts of the villages about the incidents. Representatives of the Armed Forces of Armenia and the Russian border guards were also notified about the incidents. Negotiations for the return of the animals have not yielded results as of August 3.

Azerbaijani servicemen refuse to return the animals claiming that they do not have them.

"The theft of animals belonging to the border residents of Armenia by the Azerbaijani servicemen, and the damage thereof are regular. Their illegal actions violate the property rights of the residents of Armenia; these actions are aimed at depriving them of the opportunity to engage in cattle breeding and earn a family income. In addition to security, all this causes social problems, including serious damage to the border population of Armenia are still there.

"Such cases confirm that in order to protect the population of Armenia, to guarantee the rights of thr citizens, it is necessary to create a security zone around Syunik and Gegharkunik, including through the removal of Azerbaijani forces from border villages of Armenia and the roads connecting Syunik communities to each other."