Over the the past 22 years, more than 2,000 members of Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces have lost their lives or have been injured. This data was recently released in a study conducted by the Caspian Defense Studies Institute.
The Institute counted losses incurred in between May 12th, 1994 until May 12th, 2016.
Institute head, Cesur Sumerinli, stated that during the period in question, no less than 1008 Azerbaijani soldiers had died. Of those, 873 were killed by bullets and 135 by mines. An additional 1205 were injured while serving on the Front: 965 by bullets, 240 by mines.
The methodology, he noted, used a number of different sources: “Losses were calculated according to results published by Azerbaijani mass media outlets, military sources and the parents of deceased soldiers.”
During the same period, more than 90 civilians have lost their lives in the conflict; 50 have fallen to bullets while 40 died as a result of mine explosions. 140 civilians have also received injuries: 80 from bullets, 60 from mine explosions.
10 Azerbaijani civilians have been taken hostage and returned. Two Azerbaijanis – one of whom is a Russian citizen – are currently awaiting trial on fake charges in occupied Nagorno Karabakh.
More than 30 Azerbaijani soldiers have also been captured: 5 of whom were released from custody and sent to third countries, the rest of which have been gradually over time returned to Azerbaijan.
