Azerbaijan: frontline villagers stay at home despite shelling

Women, children and the elderly have left a number of Azerbaijani villages located in the frontline area, but other villagers would not leave their homes and households for a long time, Avaz Gasanov, an activist, has informed. There are children and women among shelling victims.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the number of Azerbaijani civilians who perished in shelling attacks since September 27 has reached 27; other 141 residents of Azerbaijan were wounded; 376 houses were destroyed, the country's General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) has reported. Armenia denies accusations of shelling Azerbaijani dwelling settlements.

According to Avaz Gasanov, the head of the Society for Humanitarian Studies, they have evacuated children, women and elderly people from almost all the settlements of the Terter, Agdam and Fizuli Districts, which are under systematic shelling. In the cities and villages that have come under fire in recent days, the population remains mostly in place, but if the attack intensity increases, women and children will also be sent away to their relatives.

There are practically no specially equipped shelters in the frontline villages, the activist said. In some places, people have dug shelters themselves and covered them with some improvised means.