MP criticizes silence over deadly 2023 fuel depot explosion

PanARMENIAN.Net - Tigran Abrahamyan, MP from the I Have Honor faction, wrote on Facebook that, two years after the deadly Stepanakert explosion, major questions remain unanswered, and the then-commander of the Artsakh Defense Army, Kamo Vardanyan, has not yet made a public statement.

“Two years ago today, during Azerbaijan’s assault and the forced displacement of Artsakh Armenians, another tragedy struck: the explosion of the Defense Army’s fuel depot, which killed over 200 people and left around 20 still missing.

Various theories were floated, from an Azerbaijani strike and terrorism to safety violations, but to this day, no clarifications or identifications of those responsible have been provided.

This was an unprecedented tragedy with hundreds of victims, yet the investigation has yielded no results, and key questions remain unanswered: What actually happened, and who is accountable?

Kamo Vardanyan, who commanded the Defense Army at the time, remains silent to this day. He has made no public comment about the September 2023 attacks, the forced displacement, or the explosion at a facility under his command,” Abrahamyan wrote.

On September 25, 2023, amid mass displacement in Artsakh, a massive explosion occurred at a fuel depot near Stepanakert. The blast killed 218 people, injured 120, and left 21 missing.