Karmir Shouka residents stop taking children to kindergarten because of shelling attacks

The village of Karmir Shouka in Nagorno-Karabakh is being shelled every day from the Azerbaijani side, despite the presence of peacekeepers, and local residents are afraid to take their children to kindergarten.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 10, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Nagorno-Karabakh accused Azerbaijan of shelling attacks on the village of Karmir Shouka (the Azerbaijani name is Qırmızı Bazar, – note of the “Caucasian Knot”) in the Martuni District, as a result of which a civilian’s car parked near a kindergarten caught fire. The Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan refuted the allegations. The kindergarten, from where preschoolers were evacuated, has resumed its operation, but parents fear for safety of their children and do not bring them there.

Arleta Sargsyan, the director of the kindergarten, says that parents refuse to bring their children because of the daily shelling attacks. According to her, this morning, the Azerbaijani military forces fired again at the village.

“I think if it weren’t for the presence of Russian peacekeepers, our life would be simply unbearable," Arleta Sargsyan emphasized.

Loreta Asryan, the chair of the kindergarten’s parent committee, notes that in general there is no panic in the village, but “over the past three weeks, the security situation has become much more complicated.” “Even the presence of peacekeepers does not stop the Azerbaijani military forces from firing,” she said.

During the 2020 war in the Karmir Shouka community, five residential buildings were burned down by rocket attacks, eight were destroyed, and more than 300 were partially damaged, the local administration reported.