Missing servicmen`s relatives continue blocking Baghramyan Avenue in  Armenia 

ArmInfo.  Since yesterday, relatives of missing servicemen have continued their protest in front of the Armenian parliament building, blocking Baghramyan Street due  to the dismissal of the head of the National Security Service of  Armenia Armen Abazyan.

The protesters are expressing dissatisfaction with the dismissal of  the head of the National Security Service, chairman of the commission  on prisoners of war, hostages and missing persons Armen Abazyan.  Police officers also arrived at the scene.

As ArmInfo previously reported, the protesters are demanding that  Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan explain the reasons for Armen  Abazyan's dismissal. According to them, after hope arose to receive  information about the fate of their loved ones, the Armenian prime  minister "unexpectedly" decided to dismiss the head of the National  Security Service. In this regard, the protesters emphasized that it  was thanks to the efforts of the former head of the National Security  Service that a meeting with representatives of Baku took place  several months ago, which led to certain agreements. However, the  relatives refused to disclose the details of the latest information  received from Abazyan, only noting that it was positive.

Earlier the Prime Minister signed a decision according to which the  head of the National Security Service Armen Abazyan was dismissed  from his post. Pashinyan told journalists that Abazyan had held this  post for a long time and it was time for him to rest. He also assured  that the reason for the dismissal was not the information circulated  in the media that Abazyan refused to carry out the order to detain  businessman Samvel Karapetyan. According to Pashinyan, the latter  "could not disobey" his orders.

The exact number of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages held in  Azerbaijani prisons is still unknown.  According to the latest data  from the International Committee of the Red Cross, as of August 2024,  about 1,000 people are considered missing on the Armenian side, with  about 300 people being considered as such after the latest escalation  in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone in the period from autumn 2020  to autumn 2023. Moreover, all data was collected by the ICRC based on  appeals from the relatives of the missing persons themselves.

The ICRC also reported that among these 300 people, there are several  dozen appeals concerning cases where the family did not agree with  the DNA data provided by the state.