The remains of 40 people who died as a result of fuel tank explosion in Nagorno-Karabakh and the Azerbaijani military aggression have been identified, Armenian Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan told a press conference on Friday, October 20, RFE/RL’s Armenian service reports.

Avanesyan did not reveal exactly how many people were killed in the explosion and the military aggression.

Hunan Tadevosyan, the former spokesperson of the Artsakh Ministry of Internal Affairs, said earlier that there are 220 confirmed victims as a result of the explosion. About 150 of them could not be identified, and more than 50 are missing.

On September 19, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh, which left hundreds of Armenians killed and thousands of others displaced. On September 20, the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh agreed to a ceasefire on Azerbaijan’s terms, including the dissolution of the Defense Army. On September 18, President of the Republic of Artsakh Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree, according to which the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) will cease to exist by January 1, 2024. Over 100,000 displaced residents have already fled Nagorno-Karabakh and reached Armenia.