Arabo Battalion

The Arabo Volunteer Detachment (Armenian: «Արաբո» կամավորական ջոկատ) or Arabo Battalion was a paramilitary Armenian volunteer unit during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, composed of Armenians mainly from Armenia and Karabakh, as well as Armenians from abroad. It was an ARF-affiliated unit.[1]

Arabo Battalion
Armenian: Արաբո կամավորական ջոկատ
Active4 October 1989-1994
Country Armenian SSR
 Armenia
Branch Armenian Ground Forces
Typeinfantry detachment
Size200
Garrison/HQRepublic of Artsakh
Nickname(s)"The Eagle" (Armenian: Արծիվ)
EngagementsFirst Karabakh War
 ∟ Khojaly massacre
 ∟ Operation Goranboy
 ∟ Capture of Garadaghly
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Simon Achikgyozyan
Manvel Yeghiazaryan

History

The group was originally named after Garegin Nzhdeh. However, the emergence of a group called "Garegin Nzhdeh" among other Armenian groups led to the change of the group's name to "Arabo". "Arabo" was the pseudonym of Arakel Mkhitarian, who revolted against the Ottomans in the 19th century and was eventually killed by Kurdish groups.[2] The group was established in Yerevan in October 1989 with the participation of Armenian nationalists from Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and France, as well as experienced officers and servicemen who served in the Soviet Army. On 9 October 1989, the number of members of the group was 24, and on January 19, 1990, the number of members of the group increased with the arrival of groups of 10, 15, 20.

Operations

At the initial stage, Arabo operated along the Armenia–Azerbaijan border. It took part in the Capture of Garadaghly, where its fighters,[3][4] together with fighters from the battalion and from other volunteer units, reportedly gathered about three dozen Azerbaijani captives in a ditch and killed them, as a way to "avenge" the death of another comrade the day before, against the orders of Monte Melkonian.[3] Over 80 members of the Arabo Battalion were killed on June 29, 1992 during the Hasangaya Operation in Aghdara (Martakert) conducted by the Ganja Battalion together with the Tartar Territorial Self-Defense Battalion.[5][6] The fate of the soldiers was unknown in Armenia, and they were considered missing until 2008, when footage from the time of the war appeared on YouTube showing the corpses of the soldiers.[7][8]

References
  1. Stepanyan, Shushan (July 2011). Սիմոն Աչիկգյոզյան. «Ինչ լինում է, թող ինձ լինի». Hay Zinvor, the official newspaper of the Armed Forces of Armenia (in Armenian). Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  2. Şahin Qocayev (27 February 2016). "ARABO Terror Dəstəsi - Qaradağlı və Xocalı cinayətkarlarının izi ilə..." Modern.az (in Azerbaijani). Archived from the original on 7 December 2017.
  3. Melkonian, Markar (2005). My Brother's Road: An American's Fateful Journey to Armenia. I.B. Tauris. pp. 211–212. ISBN 978-1-85043-635-5.
  4. Rizvan Guseynov (17 August 2010). "Ибад Гусейнов: "Монте Мелконян на коленях просил пощадить его жизнь"". 1news.az. Archived from the original on 20 August 2010.
  5. Huseynov, Rizvan. Июнь 1992 года. Попавшие в окружение армянские бандиты и иностранные наемники (in Russian). 1news.az. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  6. Hüseynov Şahlar İsa oğlu (in Azerbaijani)
  7. Yeni Müsavat (24 June 2012). "Ermənistan Xocalı cəlladlarının sümüklərini istəyir". Musavat.az (in Azerbaijani). Archived from the original on 7 December 2017.
  8. ""Արաբո" ջոկատը գտնվել է սպանված". www.aravot.am. Aravot. 22 May 2008.
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