Despite assurances from `velvet` authorities, non-combat deaths in  Armenian army 45% up during their tenure

ArmInfo. Thirty military deaths were recorded in the Armenian Armed Forces during the first seven months of 2026, according to research by the Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly (HCA).

The organization stated that 11 of the 30 were officially classified  as military service-related, while 19 were not.

The HCA recalled that back in 2019, they had approached the  Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia and the Investigative  Committee with a request to clarify the circumstances underlying the  classification of these cases. The Vanadzor office of the HCA  expressed its belief that deaths in the armed forces should be  classified into only two broad subgroups: combat deaths resulting  from ceasefire violations and non-combat deaths under any other  circumstances. Regardless of whether a service member dies while on  duty, this case should be considered a loss of the armed forces,  since the death of every service member must be considered in terms  of the state's responsibility to protect human rights. "Therefore,  the Organization assesses the death of service members in the Armed  Forces based on the fact that it occurred while on military duty,"  the statement continued.

In 2026, all deaths of service members occurred in non-combat  situations. Moreover, over the past two years and five months, no  deaths in the Armed Forces have been recorded as a result of  ceasefire violations; the last case was in February 2024, when four  members of the Yerkrapah Volunteer Union were killed as a result of a  ceasefire violation. Although no deaths due to ceasefire violations  have been recorded since February 2024, the number of military  personnel killed in the Armed Forces increased in 2018-2015 compared  to 2010-2017.

More than a third (approximately 37%) of the 30 military personnel  killed in non-combat situations in 2026 died as a result of suicide  and homicide. Furthermore, 6 out of 8 suicides and 2 out of 3  homicides were related to military service.

"In analyzing the state of protection of the right to life of  servicemen of the Armenian Armed Forces, we will examine the cases of  death of servicemen of the Armenian Armed Forces (and the Artsakh  Defense Army until 2023) and their causes, presenting them in two  time periods: before the 2018 Velvet Revolution (2010-2017) and after  it (2018-2025).

The presented data does not include deaths as a result of the war and  military operations unleashed by Azerbaijan in 2016, 2022, and 2023,"  the HCA office stated.

Thus, according to research by the HCA's Office of the Supreme  Central Intelligence Agency, 462 service members died in the armed  forces of Armenia and Artsakh between 2010 and 2017, 163 of whom  (35%) were killed in ceasefire violations and 299 (65%) in non-combat  situations.

From 2018 to 2025, 511 military personnel were killed, 84 (16%) in  combat situations and 427 (84%) in non-combat situations.

As the data shows, the number of deaths increased by approximately  11% between 2010 and 2017, while during the same period, 2018-2025,  the number of non-combat deaths of service members increased by 45%  (by 49 deaths). Regarding deaths by suicide and homicide, it should  be noted that from 2010 to 2017, 131 military personnel died from the  above-mentioned causes, accounting for 45% of all non-combat military  deaths.

And from 2018 to 2025, 120 military personnel died from suicide and  homicide, accounting for 28% of all non-combat military deaths.