The Ministry of Defense has confirmed the death of another Armenian serviceman, the fourth non-combat military death reported in less than two weeks.
According to the Ministry, the body of a contract serviceman was found on August 24 at a military unit in Sisian. The circumstances of the death are under investigation.
The latest case follows three other deaths recorded since August 13.
On August 23, serviceman Edgar Gevorgyan was found dead with a gunshot wound at a military unit.
On August 19, a GAZ-53 truck struck a group of servicemen on the road to Chambarak, killing Suren Vardanyan and injuring others.
On August 13, serviceman Grigor Zakaryan was found dead with a gunshot wound. The Investigative Committee later said one person had been arrested on suspicion of negligently driving him to suicide.
Four Armenian servicemen have therefore died in non-combat circumstances within 12 days.
The latest death brings the number of non-combat military deaths recorded in 2026 to 34. For comparison, 36 servicemen died in non-combat circumstances in 2024 and 35 in 2025.
That means 105 Armenian servicemen have died in non-combat circumstances since the beginning of 2024.
The figures are particularly alarming given that no Armenian serviceman has been reported killed as a result of a ceasefire violation since February 2024.
Asked about deaths in the army, Defense Minister Suren Papikyan described the issue as systemic.
“This is a challenge that is not mine alone. This is a systemic problem,” Papikyan told journalists in Parliament.
More than 100 non-combat deaths in less than three years cannot be dismissed as isolated incidents. The scale of the problem raises serious questions about conditions inside the army, oversight, accountability and the protection of servicemen’s lives.
