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Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) put up stiff resistance to last week’s major Azerbaijani military offensive, says Tigran Abrahamyan, an MP from Armenia’s opposition Pativ Unem faction.

“There is not a single combat outpost abandoned by servicemen. Battles were fought in all sections [of the contact line]. There are positions where the entire military personnel were killed. In other words, they defended their posts at all costs, sacrificing their lives,” he told reporters at a protest outside the Armenian government headquarters in central Yerevan on Monday.

Nevertheless, Abrahamyan stressed that Artsakh’s armed forces were outnumbered and outgunned by Azerbaijani troops. He highlighted Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan and the nine-month blockade of Artsakh, adding in such conditions Artsakh could not resist for long.

The MP accused the Armenian leadership of authorizing Azerbaijan’s offensive and remaining silent.

“The forced displacement of the Artsakh people is a result of Azerbaijan’s aggression, the demise of international law and the Armenian authorities’ criminal negligence,” the deputy stated.

In a statement on Monday, the Armenian government said the number of forcibly displaced people from Nagorno-Karabakh who arrived in Armenia reached 4,850.