Azerbaijani troops have stolen most of the cattle bought by the residents of a village in Armenia's Vayots Dzor province with an AMD 8 million loan (over $16,000) and are now refusing to return them, Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan reported on Monday, August 30.

80 of the 110 animals grazing near the village of Sers approached an Azerbaijani position on August 16, and the Azeris stole 75 of them. According to two witnesses, who were also among the owners of the cattle, three armed Azerbaijani soldiers took the animals away.

The victims have already asked the Vayots Dzor Regional Administration, the head of the community, the Armenian border troops and the Armed Forces for assistance. Without the cattle, they say, the villagers have no means of repaying the loan.

"Our state must initiate processes in the international arena to use these facts to force the Azerbaijani authorities to compensate people for such problems," Tatoyan said.