Staff Reshuffle in Armenian Army Designed to Prevent Recurrence of April Failure

A wave of layoffs in the Armenian Defense Ministry leadership does not stop the third week and, apparently, will last. Over the past period Deputy Minister of Defense, Chief of Logistics, Lieutenant General Alik Mirzabekyan, Head of Intelligence, Major General Arshak Karapetyan, head of the Signal Corps Major General Komitas Muradyan were dismissed.

These layoffs were the result of the showdown on the end of the fighting on April 2-4, when the Armenian side suffered significant losses in the north and the south of Karabakh.

The head of the parliamentary committee for defense and security Koryun Nahapetyan said the dismissals in the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces will continue and high-ranking officials will be brought to justice. His words were confirmed by the head of the parliamentary faction of the ruling Republican Party Vahram Baghdasaryan, who said the dismissals of high-ranking military were linked to failures during the April war.

The confirmation of these statements was another dismissal of the Chief of the Defense Ministry Arms Department General Melsik Chilingaryan.

In addition to these confirmed reports the Armenian media reported the possible dismissal of the Chief of General Staff Yuri Khachaturov, who on April 2 night – on the first day of the fighting did not come to his workplace, as he was playing billiards.

An indirect confirmation of his imminent displacement was the information that his close relative, the commander of the Madaghiz regiment Harutyun Amirkhanyan, in the days of fighting fled from his post and was hiding in hospital, but appeared immediately in the post after the armistice. According to Armenian sources, the Madaghiz regiment suffered the most serious losses in these battles.

The failures and shortcomings of the military leadership of Armenia are also associated with interpersonal relationships of the commanders. Thus, the former deputy commander of the Karabakh forces, now "Deputy Prime Minister" Arthur Aghabekyan announced his imminent departure from work without explanation. However, according to media reports, during the fighting, he was indignant with the boorish behavior and stupidity of the commander of the association of volunteers Yerkrapah Manvel Grigoryan. The conflict between them affected the business interests of Aghabekyan.

It is also noteworthy that the letter of intent from Aghabekyan to resign was read by the leader of Karabakh separatists from messages in social networks.

From the above a number of noteworthy findings can be made: almost all dismissals concern the leadership of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia, although the official Yerevan constantly states that only the so-called Karabakh self-defense forces fight in Karabakh. But why has no one been fired there? It is also a fact that 70% of those killed in the April battles are residents of Armenia, not Karabakh Armenians.

According to statements by Serzh Sargsyan and other seniors, the Armenian side is ready to continue the war and is feverishly looking for ways to make up for the losses of military equipment and manpower. As it became known to Turan from Azerbaijani military sources, even after the involvement of volunteers and reservists, the Armenian side has been able to complement the advanced line of defense by 60%. A similar situation exists with modern weapons.

These days Armenian propaganda is trying to show its military men as heroes, trying to strengthen the morale of the soldiers. However, as one of the commanders who took part in the fighting in the southern sector told Turan, after the liberation of the height Lala Tapa, the Armenians began to disorderly retreat from the adjacent positions and the Azerbaijani soldiers took them without a shot or losses. -02B-