Another New War? Azerbaijan’s Heroes: Soldiers Who Behead Armenians

Mary Lazarian
Nov 3 2023

by Uzay Bulut

  • After Azerbaijan besieged and starved 120,000 Christian Armenians in the Republic of Artsakh in the South Caucuses for nine months, on September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan bombed Artsakh's communities.

  • Hundreds of civilians, including children, were murdered. Almost all the Armenians of Artsakh have fled: they know that after all military raids, Armenians who have fallen into the hands of the Azerbaijani military have been treated with maximum cruelty.

  • Beheading and mutilating Armenians appears to be a long-standing tradition of Azeri soldiers. These actions are promoted and rewarded by the State of Azerbaijan. Azeri soldiers who commit such ISIS-like war crimes not only escape accountability and are never prosecuted, rather they are treated as national heroes by their government.

  • During Azerbaijan's military incursion into Armenia in September 2022, Azeri soldiers raped, mutilated and slaughtered a 36-year-old Armenian woman who served in the Armenian forces. They then posted a video demonstrating their war crime on social media. In it, the dead woman appears naked, with both of her arms and legs dismembered. One of her eyes is gouged out. A severed finger appears to be sticking out of her mouth, and another appears out of her private parts…. The Azeri soldiers videotaping can be heard laughing and joking in the background.

  • So, will the US finally hold the government of Azerbaijan to account? Will it cut US military aid to Azerbaijan? Will it once again watch as Turkey and Azerbaijan massacre more Armenians and invade more Armenian lands?

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on October 13 that in the coming weeks, Azerbaijan could invade Armenia. Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has threatened Armenia with war multiple times.

Meanwhile, pro-Erdogan media outlets in Turkey are also playing their war drums against Armenians. The headline news in the pro-Erdogan newspaper Türkiye on October 3 refers to Armenians in Armenia's Syunik (Zangezur) province as "snakes", "gangs" and "terrorists". One headline reads: "The new nest of the snake is Zangezur". It claims that the Armenians displaced from Artsakh (also known as Nagorno-Karabakh) are receiving military training in "terror camps in Zangezur".

When the Turkish media uses such words, its intent is to prepare the public for an upcoming war against an "enemy".

On November 1, the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention issued a Red Flag Alert "due to the alarming potential for an invasion of Armenia by Azerbaijan in the coming days and weeks".

The US government also knows that the next step for Azerbaijan and Turkey is to attack the Republic of Armenia.

After Azerbaijan besieged and starved 120,000 Christian Armenians in the Republic of Artsakh in the South Caucuses for nine months, on September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan bombed Artsakh's communities.

Hundreds of civilians, including children, were murdered. Almost all the Armenians of Artsakh have fled: they know that after all military raids, Armenians who have fallen into the hands of the Azerbaijani military have been treated with maximum cruelty.

Azeri soldiers, since their invasion began, have been uploading videos on social media showing themselves beheading and mutilating Armenians.

The Lemkin Institute of Genocide Prevention on September 23 noted:

"There are stories coming out of Artsakh of the beheading of children and the separation of older boys and men from women and children….. Azerbaijan has routinely treated Armenians with this level of barbarism, especially in the wars of 2016, 2020 and 2022. It is a country is run by people who do not hide their visceral hatred of Armenians."

Beheading and mutilating Armenians appears to be a long-standing tradition of Azeri soldiers. These actions are promoted and rewarded by the State of Azerbaijan. Azeri soldiers who commit such ISIS-like war crimes not only escape accountability and are never prosecuted, rather they are treated as national heroes by their government.

On February 19, 2004, for instance, during a three-month English language class that was part of the Partnership for Peace NATO-sponsored program in Budapest, Ramil Safarov, an Azerbaijani army officer, broke into the dormitory room of Armenian army Lieutenant Gurgen Margaryan at night and axed him to death while he slept. Safarov hit Margaryan 16 times on his head and neck with the axe, almost decapitating him.

A court in Budapest convicted Safarov in 2006 of murdering Markaryan and attempting to murder another Armenian participant of the course, Hayk Makuchian, in the same fashion. Safarov was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2006. However, when Safarov was extradited to Azerbaijan in 2012, he received a hero's welcome in the capital of Baku.

According to anthropologist Sarah Kendzior:

"On August 31, 2012, Ramil Safarov was extradited to Azerbaijan, where he was greeted as a hero. As an adoring crowd cheered, Safarov walked the streets of the capital draped in an Azerbaijani flag, carrying a bouquet of roses. He was pardoned by President Ilham Aliyev, promoted to the rank of major and given a new apartment and money by the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry."

In 2020, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Azerbaijan's actions amounted to the "approval" and "endorsement" of the "very serious ethnically-biased crime" that Safarov committed. The court concluded that "the acts of Azerbaijan in effect granted [Safarov] impunity for the crimes committed against his Armenian victims."

"In addition, the Court finds particularly disturbing the statements made by a number of Azerbaijani officials glorifying [Safarov,] his deeds and his pardon. It also deplores the fact that a large majority of those statements expressed particular support for the fact that [Safarov's] crimes had been directed against Armenian soldiers, congratulated him on his actions and called him a patriot, a role model and a hero."

During an Azeri raid against Artsakh on April 1-5, 2016, a Yazidi member of the Artsakh Defense Army, Kyaram Sloyan, was beheaded and mutilated by Azeri soldiers. Videos and pictures showing Azeri soldiers posing with Sloyan's severed head were posted on social media networks. The Sunday Times called them "shocking souvenir photos of uniformed Azerbaijani soldiers posing with the severed head".

Sloyan was reburied in his father's village in Armenia after the International Committee of the Red Cross retrieved his severed head and returned it to his family.

"When they brought the body, we didn't know that it's headless," Sloyan's grief-stricken father Kyalash told RFE/RL's Armenian service on April 11, 2016. "It was very painful to discover that. They brought the head yesterday."

The Azerbaijani officer who decapitated Sloyan reportedly became a national hero in Azerbaijan. President Aliyev awarded him a medal in May 2016.

The Office of the Human Rights Defender of the Artsakh Republic published an interim public report on the atrocities committed by the Azerbaijani Military Forces during the four- day war in April 2016.

The report noted that both civilians and servicemen were executed and mutilated by the Azeri Army. Some Artsakh soldiers were, "along with other forms of dismemberment, also subjected to beheading," Graphic images of the abuses were also published in the report.

During Azerbaijan's 2020 war against Artsakh, Azeri accounts once again posted videos on Telegram which showed Azeris beheading Armenian civilians, soldiers and prisoners of war. One was Yuri Asryan, a reclusive 82-year-old who had refused to leave his village on October 20, 2020 when the invading Azerbaijani forces approached.

During Azerbaijan's military incursion into Armenia in September 2022, Azeri soldiers raped, mutilated and slaughtered a 36-year-old Armenian woman who served in the Armenian forces. They then posted a video demonstrating their war crime on social media. In it, the dead woman appears naked, with both of her arms and legs dismembered. One of her eyes is gouged out. A severed finger appears to be sticking out of her mouth, and another appears out of her private parts.

The video also includes several other mutilated and beheaded Armenian men. The Azeri soldiers videotaping can be heard laughing and joking in the background.

The words of Kamil Zeynallı, an Azeri athlete with 1.7 million Instagram followers, demonstrate the Azeri path to national "heroism". Zeynalli said in a WhatsApp call later posted on social media:

"Shed the blood of the Armenians. You'll return to our country like a man. You'll be free like a man. Our president [Aliyev] is behind those who behead Armenians.

"Whoever cuts off the heads of Armenians, our esteemed president is by their side."

Azerbaijan tries to spread propaganda in the West about allegedly being a "tolerant" and "multicultural" society. This propaganda is refuted by Azerbaijan's rewarding soldiers who behead Armenians, among many other war crimes they commit against Armenians.

There is no government other than Azerbaijan that so proudly rewards soldiers who behead and mutilate their captives, except perhaps for the Palestinian Authority and the Islamic State (ISIS).

The jihadists' use of beheadings is based on Islamic scriptures and Islamic history:

"So when you meet those who disbelieve [in battle], strike [their] necks until, when you have inflicted slaughter upon them, then secure their bonds…, and either [confer] favor afterwards or ransom [them] until the war lays down its burdens. That [is the command]. And if Allah had willed, He could have taken vengeance upon them [Himself], but [He ordered armed struggle] to test some of you by means of others. And those who are killed in the cause of Allah – never will He waste their deeds." – Quran 47:4, Sahih International translation

"I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved, so strike [them] upon the necks and strike from them every fingertip." – Quran 8:12 : Sahih International translation

Beheadings have been commonly used by Muslims in their jihad (war in the service of Allah) against non-Muslims since the advent of Islam in the seventh century. (For more examples of Islam's use of beheadings and other forms of violence, see here.)

Azerbaijan's war against Armenians is jihadist as well as nationalist. During Azerbaijan's war against Armenians in 2020, Erdogan declared:

"We support Azerbaijan until victory… I tell my Azerbaijani brothers: May your ghazwa be blessed."

"Ghazwa" in Islam means a battle or raid against non-Muslims for the expansion of Muslim territory and/or conversion of non-Muslims to Islam. Erdogan thus openly announced that attacks against the Armenian territory constitute jihad. To fight against Armenians in Artsakh, Turkey was joined in Azerbaijan by mercenary jihadi terrorists from Syria, as well.

During the first Artsakh war (1991-94), which the Armenians won, Dr. Araks Pashayan, an expert on political Islam and Azerbaijan, noted that "mercenaries from Afghanistan, Iran, the United States, Russia and Turkey were included in Azerbaijani army, and particularly Turkey and Iran provided Baku with military instructors."

Mohammad Younas was among the thousands of Afghan fighters that Hezb-e Islami, a major Afghan Islamist party, sent to Azerbaijan in the 1990s to bolster Baku in its war against Armenians.

"If possible, I would again join the Muslims of Azerbaijan to defend them against non-Muslims," Younas told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan. "My real motivation in going to Azerbaijan was participating in a jihad, but I also wanted to make some money," he said.

In the face of this barbarity, the world idly watches. Such complacency has allowed Azerbaijan to forcibly displace around 120,000 indigenous Armenians from their homeland of Artsakh. Armenians know what will happen if they try to live under the Azeri regime.

So, will the US finally hold the government of Azerbaijan to account? Will it cut US military aid to Azerbaijan? Will it once again watch as Turkey and Azerbaijan massacre more Armenians and invade more Armenian lands?

It is high time that the West sanctioned the Azerbaijani government and held it accountable for treating Armenians in the most brutal ways. As long as Western governments continue their military and commercial cooperation with Azerbaijan and turn a blind eye to its mass atrocity crimes, they will remain complicit in Azerbaijan's crimes.

Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist, a research fellow for the Philos Project, and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.

No change near Jermuk, parts of Vayots Dzor province still under Azeri occupation

Emil Lazarian

 16:24, 2 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani troops that invaded into sovereign Armenian territory in the direction of Jermuk in September 2022 have neither pulled back nor advanced, Vayots Dzor Governor Ararat Grigoryan said at a press briefing.

“There’s been no change in the situation, it is calm. The Azerbaijani troops remain in the same places where they invaded, there’s been no change. They’ve neither advanced nor pulled back,” the governor said.

He said there’s been no shooting incidents this year. “I can’t recall any incident during this one year,” Grigoryan said.

The Azeri troops have been occupying 7600 hectares of sovereign Armenian territory in Vayots Dzor since September 2022.

Sotk gold mine still operates partially after Azerbaijani shootings

Edgar Tavakalian

 16:36, 2 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. The Sotk gold mine near the border that has been regularly targeted by Azerbaijani forces still operates partially, Governor of the Gegharkunik Province Karen Sargsyan has said.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Sargsyan said the gold mine functions only in the closed section.

“The operations in the closed mine continue, but the open section hasn’t been working for several months now,” he said.

Overall, the situation in the province is calm and there’s been no change in terms of security, the governor said.

“In terms of security, the situation is stable, it is calm, there’s been no change,” the governor said.

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 02-11-23

Babken Chilingarian

 17:10, 2 November 2023

YEREVAN, 2 NOVEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 2 November, USD exchange rate down by 0.02 drams to 402.37 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 3.40 drams to 427.88 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.01 drams to 4.32 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 2.15 drams to 490.61 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 137.76 drams to 25696.41 drams. Silver price down by 6.87 drams to 293.27 drams.

Hoffmann hopes German foreign policy in the South Caucasus to be value-based

Arpi Talalian

 17:57, 2 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS.  Dustin Hoffmann, a German human rights activist , the head of the office and political adviser to German MEP Martin Sonneborn, believes that the European Union has a huge responsibility to support Armenia. He noted with satisfaction that France acted in that regard and helped Armenia in developing its defense capabilities, expressing hope that Germany, which for many years has conditioned its policy in the South Caucasus based on economic interests, will also change its approach.

Dustin Hoffman said  in an interview with Armenpress Brussels correspondent.  

“With Armenia moving away from Russia, the EU has a huge responsibility to support Armenia. It is good to see that France acted further by helping Armenia with what it needed: defense capabilities. I very much hope that Germany will also change its policy regarding the South Caucasus. Due to Germany’s contribution to the Armenian Genocide in 1915, there is a strong moral responsibility to prevent any further escalation. It is important to note that all the failures in the past should not stop the German government from changing its course. Better late than never,” he said.

Referring to the main purpose of German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s visit to Armenia, Hoffmann said that in the past, Germany’s foreign policy in the South Caucasus was mainly to Azerbaijan’s benefit.

 “Although Azerbaijan was frequently using military force, Germany deepened the economic relationship with the regime in Baku.  Now when there is a risk of a regional conflict which could involve neighboring states like Iran and Turkey, such an escalation would not be in Germany’s interest because it jeopardizes the region’s stability. Also, Armenia started to move away from its partnership with Russia. Given the West’s current stance towards Russia, there is a strong interest in supporting such developments,’’ said Hoffmann.

Responding to the question about the place of Armenia and the developments in Nagorno-Karabakh in the political agenda of Germany's foreign relations, Hoffmann answered: “In the past, German foreign policy in the South Caucasus was not value-based but instead prioritised economic interests. Also, it seems like there is a lack of understanding of the conflict’s dynamics. Ms Baerbock did not comment on Azerbaijan’s blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh for months, and when she did, it was already too late.’’ 

He also criticized the German Foreign Minister for his speech at the UN Security Council after Azerbaijan’s assault in September when she said that, Baku and Karabakh Armenians have to return to a dialogue”.

According to Hoffmann, such a statement was inappropriate after such a brutal attack by Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh.

Speaking about the possibility of the EU imposing sanctions on Azerbaijan, Hoffmann said: “Currently, sanctions are unrealistic because there is no unanimity in the EU. Borrell’s statement of condemnation after Azerbaijan’s aggression was supposed to be a statement of 27 EU member states, which Hungary consequently vetoed. If the EU is not able to condemn Azerbaijan’s aggressions, it is doubtful that there will be consensus on sanctions. This is tragic, especially since the European Parliament already called for sanctions months ago. It is possible that more pressure would have prevented Azerbaijan from resorting to military force. Impunity encourages Baku.’’

 He also stated that the EU's foreign policy related to the South Caucasus has failed: “The EU’s foreign policy regarding the South Caucasus is a major failure. In the recent resolution, the European Parliament expressed it in an unusually blunt way: "The European Parliament expresses deep dissatisfaction at the fact that regular alerts by Parliament regarding the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and the risks of a catastrophic outcome have been disregarded,’’he said.

Hoffmann also criticized the European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for the signed memorandum on increasing gas supplies from Azerbaijan, although Aliyev’s fondness for military force was not a secret.

Hoffman positively assessed the activity of the EU observation mission in Armenia.

“The EU Monitoring Mission seems to be a success since it can have a deterrent effect and enables accountability for the EU leadership,’’ Hoffmann said.

  Lilit Gasparyan




PM Pashinyan receives the members of the Estonia-Armenia inter-parliamentary friendship group

Ani Kharatian

 18:08, 2 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received the members of the Estonia-Armenia friendship group of the Estonian Parliament headed by Mati Rydma, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

''The Prime Minister highlighted the cooperation with Estonia at both intergovernmental and interparliamentary levels and noted that mutual visits contribute to the expansion and strengthening of bilateral ties.

The sides referred to the forced deportation of more than 100,000 of our compatriots from Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of Azerbaijan's ethnic cleansing policy and the resulting humanitarian situation, as well as the steps being taken by the Armenian government to overcome it. The support of the international community in solving the existing problems was highlighted.

The sides exchanged ideas on Armenia-European Union cooperation, the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and other issues of regional importance,'' reads the statement.

PACE co-rapporteurs to make monitoring visit to Armenia

Maral Takmazian

 19:31, 2 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Kimmo Kiljunen (Finland SOC) and Boriana Åberg (Sweden, EPP/CD), co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the monitoring of obligations and commitments by Armenia, will make a fact-finding visit to the country from 17 to 20 February 2023, the Council of Europe said in a statement.

''In Yerevan, Mr Kiljunen and Ms Åberg are due to meet the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Deputy Minister of Defense, the Chairperson of the Armenian delegation to PACE and representatives of the diplomatic community.Sweden, EPP/CD

Meetings are also scheduled in the cities of Jermuk, Goris and Vardenis with representatives of the local authorities,'' it reads.

Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia thanks Estonia for the decision to provide humanitarian assistance to Armenia

Emil Lazarian

 19:44, 2 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyanon Thursday has held a meeting with  the delegation headed by Mati Raidma, the head of the Estonia-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group of the Estonian Parliament, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said  in a readout.

According to the source, the deputy minister welcomed the visit of the delegation of the Estonia-Armenia friendship group to Armenia, highlighted the importance of the inter-parliamentary dialogue and expressed hope that the visit of the Estonian parliamentarians will contribute to the expansion of cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries.

during the meeting the process of democratic reforms implemented in Armenia, the Armenian-Estonian bilateral agenda, as well as issues related to Armenia-EU cooperation were discussed.

At the meeting Paruyr Hovhannisyan  briefed the Estonian delegation on the situation created resulting from the forced displacement of more than 100 thousand people of Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of the policy of ethnic cleansing carried out by Azerbaijan. The deputy minister expressed his gratitude to the Estonian government for deciding to provide humanitarian assistance.

Deputy PM meets the Armenian Assembly of America representatives

Tania Jagharian

 20:24, 2 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan has held a meeting with Carolyn Mugar, President of the Board of the Armenian Assembly of America, Anthony Barsamian, Co-Chair of the Assembly Board of Trustees,  Executive Director Bryan Ardouny and the  regional director Arpi Vardanyan, Grigoryan’s Office said.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister thanked the representatives of the Armenian Assembly of America for the work carried out for the benefit of the people of Armenia. Mher Grigoryan has presented the short- and medium-term needs of more than 100,000 forcibly displaced refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh.

During the meeting, the regional developments were also touched upon.

We welcome journalists who cover truth related to Armenia and the South Caucasus: Armenia’s Foreign Ministry

Vatche Chakhmakhchian

 20:32, 2 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. On the International Day  “End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists” Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the specialists covering the truth about Armenia and the South Caucasus.

“On International Day End Impunity for Crimes against journalists, we salute to professionals who stand on side of justice and cover truth related to  Armenia and South Caucasus. We remember those who gave voice to people of Nagorno Karabakh trapped in war, blockade and forced displacement,” Armenia's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ani Badalyan posted in Twitter.