Armenian army suffers fourth non-combat death in one month

Two Armenian soldiers died in non-combat conditions days apart. One of the soldiers, 22-year-old Edgar Gevorgyan, was shot dead on Sunday, while another unnamed soldier died on Monday. The incidents come amidst renewed scrutiny into a spate of non-combat deaths occurring within the army.

Gevorgyan was found dead from a gunshot wound and the authorities have detained a suspect in his murder.

The authorities have yet to share any additional information about the death of the unnamed 37-year-old soldier who died on Monday.

Just a week prior, a soldier was killed, and six others were injured after a lorry hit them on the road in Armenia’s Gegharkunik province. Earlier in August, one person was arrested and is suspected to have incited a fellow soldier to commit suicide.  The incident triggered major reshuffles in the army following a rise in non-combat deaths this year.

In response, Pashinyan appointed Aram Hovhannisyan as head of the Military Police and dismissed Seryozha Stepanyan from his position as head of the Department of Morale and Psychological Support in the army.  He also established an interagency working group to develop systemic solutions to suicides and ‘non-statutory relations’ in the army. The working group has three months to develop and submit proposals to curb such deaths in the army.

On Monday, while introducing the new government programme to parliament, Pashinyan talked about the concerning cases of army deaths.

‘Our efforts to eliminate these problems will not stop, and we are already outlining concrete programs on how we should solve this problem, while also understanding that it is in some way connected to changes in the external environment,’ he said.

Also on Monday, Defence Minister Suren Papikyan discussed the recent deaths, stating that although statistics are not a correct way to address the army deaths, historical army statistics demonstrate that suicides and similar cases have occurred consistently over the years due to criminal activities within the army. Papikyan claimed that the Defence Ministry did not get blamed for such deaths in the past.

Papikyan said that the ministry’s continuous efforts have reduced the number of deaths to two in 2025. However, according to the Military Prosecutor’s Office,  in 2025, 30 soldiers died in non-combat conditions.

The difference in numbers was explained by Defence Ministry spokesperson Aram Torosyan earlier this month. He said that statistics often show a single total number without distinguishing between deaths linked to military service and those that are not.

As reports continue streaming in about non-combat deaths in the army, civil society is urging the Defence Ministry to take responsibility for these deaths and work towards resolving the underlying issues, rather than generalising responsibility and using statistics to distinguish between service-related and unrelated deaths.