The 2020 Artsakh/Nagorno Kharabakh Conflict revealed quite a few issues within the Armenian Armed Forces—certainly one of which was the lack to conduct an efficient call-up of reservists. As soon as navy and political leaders understood that formal mobilization of reservists didn’t work, this method was changed by jokats—the usage of volunteer teams, with 40 males in every. However this technique was additionally ineffective as a result of the teams had been probably not built-in within the Armed Forces, personnel lacked coaching, and their commanders had been inexperienced. After the conflict a brand new pattern arose—the event of non-state volunteer models. One of the best identified is Voma, which was fashioned in 2014 and took part within the 2020 Artsakh/Nagorno Kharabakh Conflict, however there are a number of others, corresponding to Tigran Mets and Azatazen. The concept of civic engagement and exercise “coming from beneath” to meet capabilities the state will not be in a position to carry out successfully could sound like an excellent various however it will possibly convey difficult issues and important dangers.
This text outlines the operational, materials, and authorized dangers related to volunteer battalions and proposes some options to deal with these points.
The issue of integration and armament
Units corresponding to these described above depend on civilian volunteers prepared to undertake coaching actions—usually within the night or at weekends. A few of these teams, together with Voma and Tigran Mets, are on fight responsibility alongside the border with Azerbaijan.
The models are extremely motivated, however as a result of they conduct virtually all coaching actions on their very own and should not have a lot interplay with the common military they largely function outdoors the command-and-control chain (C2). That is undoubtedly not one of the best use of a number of the most motivated individuals within the nation.
There are additionally issues with the gear the teams use. Their clothes and particular person armour are typically higher than these used within the Armed Forces, however they’ll’t use any armaments besides small arms (largely assault rifles) throughout coaching. A scarcity of coaching on crew served weapons and most trendy gear makes these teams a problem to successfully combine with their common military counterparts.
The third concern is that the models are completely reliant on non-public finance. At current the need exists amongst donors in Armenia and the diaspora to help such tasks—and let’s hope that received’t change. However hope will not be a time period that sits comfortably in navy planning and the safety structure of a rustic in such a hard-threat atmosphere, particularly given the truth that the deployment and operations of combat-ready teams is extraordinarily costly.
Volunteers will be prosecuted or killed in Azerbaijan
A serious drawback of the non-state volunteer models is that they don’t seem to be protected by current conflict conventions. A volunteer member captured by Azerbaijani forces throughout border clashes or navy battle is probably not thought-about a prisoner of conflict (POW). Because of this, the Baku regime will at greatest prosecute them for terrorism, being a mercenary, and so forth, and at worst execute them on the battlefield. Acquiescing on this state of affairs could be to decide out of ethical duty for the destiny of Armenian troopers.
The state of affairs described above will not be hypothetical. Azerbaijani authorities and navy personnel have brazenly executed Armenian POWs, as evidenced by movies and pictures of such crimes coming from pro-government Azerbaijani sources—largely through Telegram and different social media platforms.
One other case that makes plain the grave hazard for militia-type troops is the continuing prosecution by the Azerbaijani authorities of POWs captured throughout the 2020 Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, regardless of the actual fact that is in opposition to worldwide penal legislation conventions.
It’s value noting that the worldwide neighborhood helps the Armenian place—the latest execution of POWs was condemned by many international locations, together with america. Furthermore, most formal and de facto mediators of the Armenian–Azerbaijani battle are working for the discharge of Armenian POWs and from time to time Baku has been sending them again to Yerevan. But when irregular troops had been imprisoned or executed there may not be such robust help from the worldwide neighborhood.
One other worldwide problem that will come up is the potential issue created for protection procurement by international locations, largely Western ones, conducting the arms commerce responsibly. At this level Armenia will not be procuring weapons in these international locations, however there’s a pattern in direction of diversification because the Russo-Ukrainian conflict and the continuing casual freeze of navy–technical cooperation between Moscow and Yerevan. Utilizing irregular privately financed armed teams will not be the easiest way to reveal duty and excessive requirements of deployment, upkeep, and operation of any Western weapons that theoretically might be procured by Yerevan.
Proposed options
The prevailing state of affairs will not be optimum for Armenia’s safety. On the identical time there are indicators of some optimistic processes happening: the core personnel of a number of volunteer models are signing official short-term contracts with the Armenian Ministry of Protection and beginning fight responsibility on the border with Azerbaijan, which technically makes them a part of the Armed Forces. This additionally permits volunteers to amass military-class small arms from the military in the middle of their responsibility. But on the identical time it can’t be stated that models are actually built-in within the state’s protection establishments.
Essentially the most well-known latest instance of the formation and use of volunteer models is within the Russo-Ukrainian battle, which began in 2014. At the moment the Ukrainian Armed Forces had been in a really unhealthy form with most troops out of motion, so a means of forming volunteer battalions was launched, partly much like latest developments in Armenia. The important thing distinction was the preliminary participation of the Ukrainian state in forming such models—all of them had been both a part of newly appeared Nationwide Guard (a part of the Ukrainian Inside Affairs Ministry) and Territorial Protection troops (organized by the Normal Workers), or the Armed Forces. A few of the models had and nonetheless have non-public financing, however that doesn’t cowl 100% of operational prices—it’s extra to enhance quite than substitute the state’s monetary capabilities.
As Armenia for the time being is forming its personal Territorial Protection troops, there may be an optimum manner of integrating the present volunteer models into the state system. They need to turn into formal battalions of Territorial Protection. On the identical time the models ought to protect their names, commanders, a part of their internally fashioned traditions, in addition to their help from donors which must be organized the best way which isn’t creating combined loyalties and priorities. On the identical time these troops must also be financed by the federal government on the identical degree as different newly fashioned “pure” Territorial Protection battalions and personal assist must be one thing auxiliary and performed via official pipelines. Concurrently, the actions of unbiased volunteer models must be strictly prohibited and an official pipeline for forming such models in future must be arrange.
Leonid Nersisyan is a protection analyst and analysis fellow at APRI Armenia. He’s co-author of the books Ready for the Storm: The South Caucasus and Storm within the Caucasus.
These views are his personal.
