‘I came to apologise’: Armenian relatives visit soldiers’ graves after ceasefire deal

Anger and grief palpable among families who believe soldiers died in lost war for Nagorno-Karabakh

On a hillside speckled with headstones and tricolours on the outskirts of the Armenian capital, Yerevan, a thin man in aviator sunglasses sits silently in front of his son’s grave, breathing in the smell of incense.

Artur Kirakosyan keeps a photo of his son Artyom taking his military oath at the age of 19. He dreams of avenging him at the military positions outside his native Jermuk, close to the Azerbaijani lines, showing the knife he keeps tucked in his belt buckle.

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