Three high-ranking Armenian military officials were arrested on Monday as part of a probe conducted by the government.
The arrests come at a turbulent time for the Armenian military, as other senior generals have been relieved of their duties since four-day long fierce bout of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan at the beginning of April.
“They were arrested for different criminal charges. They are suspected of various wrongdoings. In one case accepting poor quality supplied goods, in another case, according to preliminary data, procurements with exaggerated expenses,” said Sona Truzyan, a government spokesman, naming the arrested as Major-General Mels Chilingaryan, Colonel Armen Margaryan, and Colonel Mher Papyan.
Chilingaryan, who served as head of the armaments department of the Armenian armed forces, was dismissed on May 23 by president Serzh Sargsyan. Three other generals met the same fate in late-April.
The Armenian armed forces suffered many casualties during the four-day war with Azerbaijan, the worst outbreak of fighting in two decades.
The dismissals have been welcomed by a number of Armenian commentators who say that a fight against corruption in the all-powerful Armenian Armed Forces is long overdue.
SOURCE: commonspace.eu and agencies
PHOTO: Armenian soldiers
