The Region in Brief

Armenia

Agshin Bebirov, an Azerbaijani soldier who crossed the border into Armenia, has been sentenced to 11.5 years in prison. Bebirov was detained on April 10 in Ashotavan, Syunik and charged with illegally crossing and transporting weapons across the state border. Another Azerbaijani soldier who crossed the border with Bebirov, Huseyn Akhundov, was charged with murdering an Armenian security guard in Kapan, Syunik. Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the two soldiers “went missing due to limited visibility due to bad weather conditions.” Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the soldiers fled from the army due to “pressure and humiliation from other comrades.”