I almost died in Martuni. While reporting in this town in the east of Nagorno-Karabakh a couple of weeks ago, a missile exploded exactly where my cameraman Aram Grigoryan and I were standing. I received a few scratches, but Aram was seriously wounded.
Along with two other groups of journalists, we had headed to Martuni on 1 October. Two residents of the town, including a seven-year-old child, had been killed in shelling on the first day of the war, 27 September, and local and international journalists decided to visit - to inspect bombarded houses and interview local residents.
It took us several hours to reach Martuni from Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh - an unrecognised republic located between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Our vehicles were marked “Press” in capital letters on all the windows. We wore bullet-proof vests and helmets, also labelled “Press”. There were no military forces and military structures located in Martuni and there were no soldiers in the area where we were reporting.
