The leaked memo claiming massive Azerbaijani losses during April war
558 Azeri Soldiers Killed, 1,851 Injured During April War, According to Leaked Memo
YEREVAN””A leaked image, which appears to be a memo on Azerbaijani Defense Ministry letterhead, states that during the 2016 April War 558 Azerbaijani soldiers were killed and 1,293 were wounded, far less than what official Baku reported at the time.
The letter was posted on the voskanapat.info by political commentator Hrant Melik Shanazyarian, who does not mention how he obtained the document.
According to a translation of the document, the letter, date April 28, 2016, is addressed to Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov and is from Azerbaijani Army Chief of Staff and Deputy Defense Minister Najmaddin Sadikhov.
In the letter, Sadikhov says that 205 of those killed were soldiers of the Azerbaijani Special Forces, 98 of whom were reportedly killed in Talish, the epicenter of Azerbaijan’s brutal attack in April 2016 on Artsakh positions. Sadikhov adds that 32 Azerbaijani soldiers were killed in the Varanda-Mekhakavan region in the south (formerly Fizouli-Jebrail) and 75 in the other areas on the Artsakh-Azerbaijan border, known as the Line of Contact.
In the memo, Sadikhov also suggests to not transfer the bodies of the dead soldiers at the same time and recommends holding funerals at night in an effort to keep the moral and spirit of the armed forces staff high and to “eliminate the Azerbaijani public criticisms of the armed forces.”
