Simon Achikgyozyan [SEP] conflict
Simon Achikgyozyan
Simon Achikgyozyan (, 6 February 1939 – 30 April 1991) was one of the earliest Armenian military commanders during the Nagorno-Karabakh War. He is considered a hero in Armenia.
Early life, education and career.
Achikgyozyan was born in the city of Galați, Kingdom of Romania to Hovhannes and Siranuysh from the Ottoman Empire, survivors of the Armenian Genocide. In 1946, his family resettled in Soviet Armenia. Achikgyozyan graduated from the Yerevan State University in 1960 as an engineer-geologist. From
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Achikgyozyan joined the ARF-affiliated Arabo detachment in 1989 and was elected into the Yerevan City Council in 1990. By early 1991, the tensions rose gradually to a point where an armed conflict became inevitable. In late April 1991, the joint Soviet and Azerbaijan security forces perpetrated the Operation Ring. It included the deportation of thousands of civilian Armenians from the region. Armenian volunteer groups, led by Tatul Krpeyan (posthumously awarded with the National Hero of Armenia title) and Simon Achikgyozyan organized self-defense operations, however