The Armenian parliament passed amendments to the law on defense that regulate activities of people's militia in the second and final reading on Wednesday, a Sputnik correspondent reported
YEREVAN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th October, 2020) The Armenian parliament passed amendments to the law on defense that regulate activities of people's militia in the second and final reading on Wednesday, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
The Defense Ministry floated the idea of creating such a militia in August, following border clashes with Azerbaijan in July. The flare-up of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in late September added extra urgency to the matter. The ministry expects up to 100,000 people to join the militia.
According to Deputy Defense Minister Gabriel Balayan, the militia will have territorial units in accordance with the administrative-territorial division of the republic.
The chief of the General Staff will be in charge of the militia's general command. The militia will be led locally by the deputy heads of territorial administration bodies and by deputy mayor in Yerevan.
The militia will receive weapons only during military operations when performing combat tasks. Militia members may also be involved in the evacuation of the population and other civil defense activities.
The same day, lawmakers adopted legislative amendments regulating the use of property of citizens and legal entities during martial law. The law envisages guarantees to owners and conditions for providing compensation in the event of damage to temporarily used property.
