War is ugly, this is a given! Nevertheless, Hetq wishes to apologize to those readers who find the following photo, from the village of Talish in the northeastern Martakert District of Artsakh, disturbing.

Today, Hetq photographer Hakob Poghosyan was in Talish, a community that was temporarily overrun by Azerbaijani military units yesterday. The village is a few kilometers inside the Artsakh border with Azerbaijan. Only a few residents were in Talish when Azerbaijani soldiers entered.

They shot Valera Khalapyan and his wife Razmela to death in their home and then cut off their ears. Azerbaijani soldiers also executed Marousya Khalapyan, born 1924.

For the past two days, Azerbaijan has launched a major military offensive up and down the Line of Contact.

Photos: Hakob Poghosyan