Azerbaijani servicemen set fire to areas near the village of Azat in Armenia's Gegharkunik province on September 4, also targeting the road from the village of Norabak to Azat (in the immediate vicinity of an Azerbaijani position), Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan reveals.

As a result of the actions of the Azerbaijani military, pastures and other grasslands used by civilians were destroyed within a few days beginning from August 29, people were deprived of their livelihoods, which, in turn, exacerbated social problems facing them.

“The fires pose a real threat to the life of the civilian population and their property. Weather conditions, in turn, contribute to the even faster spread [of fires]," Tatoyan noted in his statement.

Azerbaijani forces violated Armenia’s border in several sections in the provinces of Syunik and Gegharkunik on May 12 and 13 and are still refusing to withdraw their troops from the area. Since then, almost a dozen Armenian servicemen have been killed in Azerbaijan’s shooting, a dozen others have been wounded, while six troops were captured on May 27, although four of them have already returned home.