23:59, 7 May 2021

Rescuers find body of a missing Azerbaijani officer

The funeral of Abulfaz Rakhmatov, Captain of the Azerbaijani army. Screenshot of the "Apa Group" https://ona.az/ru/socium/shekhid-otechestvennoj-vojny-kapitan-abulfaz-rakhmatov-pokhoronen-v-lerike-foto-obnovleno-22537

In the Djabrail District, rescuers discovered the remains of Abulfaz Rakhmatov, Captain of the Azerbaijani army, who disappeared during the first days of the autumn battles in Nagorno-Karabakh. Today, his body has been buried in the captain’s native village.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that after the aggravation of the Karabakh conflict in the autumn of 2020, 386 Azerbaijani soldiers were recognized as missing in action. By April 20, 362 of them were found dead. Investigators are to reveal whether any of the remaining 24 soldiers are being held captive or, in case if they had been killed, whether their remains were left on the side of the enemy, the Military Prosecutor’s Office of Azerbaijan reports.

On March 2, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Azerbaijan reported about the identification of 2881 bodies of the soldiers who had been killed in Nagorno-Karabakh in the autumn of 2020. About 4000 soldiers from the Armenian side were killed. At the same time, 321 Armenian soldiers were reported missing in action. By May 5, Karabakh rescuers found the bodies of 1553 soldiers on the battlefield.

The body of Captain Abulfaz Rakhmatov, who was killed at the age of 31, was found in the Djabrail District and handed over to his relatives, a brother of the killed officer reported. Two of the captain’s children turned to be orphans.

Abulfaz Rakhmatov was declared missing in action on October 15, 2020. He participated not only in the autumn battles of 2020, but also in the escalation of the conflict in April 2016, the “Report” announces.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 7, 2021 at 02:10 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.