Siege of Mərzili
| Siege of Mərzili | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict | |||||||
 Map of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Nagorno-Karabakh |
 Azerbaijan | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1 Suicide by grenade | 5 Killed by grenade | ||||||
The Siege of Marzili was a battle part of the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for defending against the Azerbaijan offensive who wanted to capture the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The battle took place on 2 April, 2016.
Battle[edit]
The battle took place in Marzili on 2 April 2016 during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the invasion of Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh.
During the battle Robert Abajyan was alone against an Azerbaijani army of more than 150 soldiers because all his colleagues had died during the war. He defended the invasion but after a while he ran out of ammunition and at that moment the army of Azerbaijan took the opportunity to advance and take control of the territory. Robert Abajyan called his commander to ask for reinforcement because he had no more ammunition, the commander took reinforcement and everything necessary to help Robert Abajyan when they were on the way to come Robert Abajyan informed them that he was surrounded by 5 Azeri soldier who wanted to capture him. Since he did not want to be captured he took a grenade[1] in his hand hoping that the reinforcement would arrive sooner than the explosion because he no longer had the choice but when the reinforcement was a few seconds before their arrival the grenade exploded, Robert Abajyan died and he killed the 5 other soldiers he wanted to capture. The commander arrived too late but the reinforcement took control of the territory so that the other soldiers Azeris are not coming to capture the territory.
Robert Abajyan in Battle[edit]
On the night of 1–2 April 2016 along the northeastern part of the NKR-Azerbaijan contact line units of Azerbaijani Armed Forces carried out large-scale attacks against the Armenian side. After the use of artillery, groups of Azerbaijani forces commenced an infantry attack. Under the leadership of captain Armenak Urfanyan, a smaller number of Armenian border soldiers started to provide heavy resistance. After two failed attempts of penetration and a loss of a tank, Azerbaijani forces withdrew to their initial positions and resumed the artillery bombardments on the contact line. Captain Urfanyan and Yazidi-Armenian machine-gunner Kyaram Sloyan were soon killed.[1][2]
After the death of the commander, Robert Abajyan, who had suffered a wound in his leg by that time, took upon himself to proceed with the resistance. After the penetration of Azerbaijani forces inside the line, he brought his wounded comrade machine-gunner Andranik Zohrabyan into the trench cell, which was located at a distance of 30 meters (98 feet).[3]
In the trench cell Abajyan contacts with the battalion commander and provides valuable information on the operational situation. He informed about possible dangers to the commander of the group that hurried to aid.[3] After Andranik Zohrabyan bled to death,[1] Abajyan continued to fight alone from the cell against a large number of enemy forces.[4] After spotting the approaching Azerbaijani soldiers, he attracted their attention by raising his hands and pretended to surrender, while secretly keeping an exposed hand grenade.[1]
Allowing 2 Azerbaijani soldiers to approach, Abajyan blew himself up with a grenade committing suicide. It's not clear if he could kill or wound any enemy soldier with this action. Having made that decision, he radioed in and said, "Mister Colonel, Mister Colonel I want you to tell everyone that in this position my men have died, my brothers have died, there has been Turks on this soil. I am now dragging (Inaudible) I want you to tell everyone, anyone that gives up this position they're mother (explosion)".[1][3][5]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "«Մոնումենտցի Կյաժը»՝ Արցախի հերոս Ռոբերտ Աբաջյանը".
- ↑ "Armenian captain destroys tank and dozen enemy soldiers, sacrifices himself by eliminating attack". armenpress.am. 14 April 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Harutyunyan, Mher (11 April 2016). "Sergeant Robert Abajyan, by decree of the NKR President, was posthumously awarded the title "Hero of Artsakh" and awarded the "Golden Eagle"". HayZinvor. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
- ↑ "Robert Abajyan alone fought against the Enemy for 5 hourst". Retrieved 13 May 2016.
- ↑ ""Նկատել է հակառակորդի ուժերը, կռիվ տվել թշնամու դեմ, ապա պայթեցրել իրեն ու ադրբեջանական խմբին". Վերջին հրաժեշտը՝ Ռոբերտ Աբաջյանին". 168 zham. 11 April 2016. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2016. Unknown parameter
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