On January 19, a massive fire broke out in one of the military units in Armenia. Fifteen servicemen were killed, and three more are in serious condition. The fire occurred at 01.30 (UTC+04:00) in the barracks of the engineering company in the village of Azat in the Gegharkunik region.

On the same day, Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturian, at the request of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, dismissed Major General Vahram Grigoryan, the Commander of the Second Army Corps of the Armed Forces of the Republic, from service.  

According to the Public Television of Armenia, in addition to the commander of the 2nd Army Corps, his deputies Colonel Mihran Makhsudyan (Chief of Staff), Colonel Shiraz Khachatryan (Deputy for Logistics), and Colonel Artur Ohanyan (Deputy for Combat Duty) will be removed from their posts. Lieutenant colonel Rudik Hakobyan, the Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Brigade; lieutenant colonel Gor Akhekyan, the Deputy Commander of the Logistics Brigade; Captain Tigran Ghazaryan, the head of the brigade's engineering service; and captain Gor Sargsyan, commander of the engineering company, will also leave their posts.

On the same day, speaking at the government's meeting, Nikol Pashinyan stated that according to preliminary data, the fire in the barracks of a military unit in the village of Azat, Gegharkunik region of Armenia, occurred when the stove was heated with gasoline. According to him, gasoline was used for kindling the stove. According to preliminary data, the officer who lit the stove in the barracks tried to fill it with gasoline from a 5-liter container. 

Pashinyan also explained why he submitted a petition to the President of the Republic to dismiss Major General Vahram Grigoryan from the post of commander of the 2nd Army Corps of the Armenian Armed Forces. On December 31, the Prime Minister made a tour of the positions and visited combat units, at the same time reaching an agreement with Defense Minister Suren Papikyan on the following: the traditional approach that violations in the army can be looked at less harshly will be stopped. "There will be no compromises. Even if something is in an improper form purely visually, measures must be taken," Pashinyan said.

Condolences from foreign officials

Moreover, the embassies of foreign countries expressed their condolences to Armenia in connection with the deaths of military personnel of the republic during the fire last night in the Gegharkunik region.

"We express our sincere condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of the servicemen who died as a result of a fire on the territory of a military unit in the Gegharkunik region. We wish a speedy recovery to the injured," the Russian Embassy in Yerevan said in a statement.

The US diplomatic mission also offered condolences, wishing the victims a speedy recovery. "At this difficult moment, we express our solidarity with those who are mourning their losses," the US diplomatic mission said in a statement.

The Iranian Embassy also expressed condolences to the people of Armenia in connection with the deaths of the country's military. "We wish a speedy recovery to the victims; our thoughts are with them, and their families," the diplomats of the Islamic Republic said.