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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Andrew Roth in Yerevan; pictures and video by Christopher Cherry

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

women laying flowers and lighting incense at a graveside
Women laying flowers and lighting incense at a graveside at Yerevan military cemetery. Photograph: Christopher Cherry/The Guardian

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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