“Syrian mercenaries” in Nagorno-Karabakh

Almost from the first days since the resumption of hostilities, the Armenian side and some Western and Russian media began to spread disinformation about Syrian mercenaries allegedly fighting on the side of Azerbaijan. 

However, all requests from the Azerbaijani and neutral journalists and experts to provide evidence of such information fell on deaf ears. Almost a week later, an alleged video evidence of participation of Syrians in the conflict surfaced. This video evidence consisted of photographs and videos of some soldiers in Azerbaijani border guard uniforms. The Armenian side claimed that these were the Syrian mercenaries fighting on the side of Azerbaijan. The main proof was the fact that they were wearing the uniform of Azerbaijani border guards.

And coincidentally against this background, just yesterday, the press secretary of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia, Shushan Stepanyan, published photos of the Minister of Defense of Armeniam, David Tonoyan in Karabakh, and in some of those photographs, Tonoyan was shown with Armenian soldiers dressed in the uniform of Azerbaijani border guards, which the Armenian propaganda from the first days of the war presented as Syrian mercenaries. Stepanyan hastily deleted these photos, but vigilant users of social networks managed to save them.

As you can see in the photo, next to the minister and opposite to him sit Armenian soldiers in uniforms, which according to the Armenians is allegedly worn by the Syrian mercenaries. This screenshot proves that Mrs. Stepanyan deleted these photos from her post.

We analyzed hundreds of photographs of David Tonoyan taken in Armenia and Karabakh, but we did not find a single one with people in such uniform. We also analyzed the photographs that the Armenian military posts from the war zone in Karabakh, and there also are no personnel

wearing such uniforms. There is no doubt that Armenian Defense Minister Tonoyan and his people for almost a month have been participating in a campaign of disinformation to spread false information that Syrian mercenaries are fighting on the side of Azerbaijan.