Documentary About The “Yeghnikner” Detachment – “Dark Forest In The Mountains”

“Dark Forest in the Mountains” is a documentary by Roger Kuplyan and John Virat dedicated to the Yeghnikner partisan detachment from Shahumyan district that has fought in the forests of Martakert and areas of Shahumyan. The detachment was commanded by Shahen Meghryan.

The Yeghnikner partisan detachment was formed in the village of Aterk on June 25, 1992, after the fall of Shahumyan. It was based on the self-defense detachments of the district villages. The detachment had its banner and coat of arms, with the latter being the coat of arms of the Meliks of Gulistan.

In March 1993, a special purpose detachment was created on the basis of the Yeghnikner detachment.

In 1992-94, the detachment was based in the NKR forests and periodically struck the enemy in the Shahumyan (Verinshen, Gulistan, Shahumyan, Kharhaput) and Martakert (Dastagir, Madaghis, Tonashen, Magavuz, Akanaberd, Aterk) districts, as well as participated in the liberation battles of the Sarsang hydroelectric complex.

In the summer of 1992, the detachment prevented the advance of the Geranboy regiment to the Martakert region. During the fight, the detachment inflicted significant losses on the enemy and its equipment.

Then, the Shahumyan Defensive Region (SDR) was formed by the decree of the Chairman of the NKR Self Defense Committee on March 11, 1993, on the basis of sabotage and reconnaissance groups operating behind enemy lines since June 20, 1992. The region originally incorporated 2 battalions (commanders V. Gziryan and D. Petrosyan). After the armistice, a third battalion was formed (commander K. Harutyunyan).

In 1993-94, SDR units participated in defensive and liberation battles in Martakert (Getingomer, Tonashen, Dastagir, Madaghis, Lulasaz, Chaylu, Talish, the Aterk pump station, the Sarsang reservoir, Umudlu, Zaglik) and Shahumyan (Gulistan, Verinshen, Kharhaput). After the war, a number of commanders and soldiers were awarded the 1st degree Battle Cross order of the Republic of Armenia, the 1st degree Battle Cross of the NKR, and the 2nd degree Battle Cross of the NKR.

DARK FOREST IN THE MOUNTAINS1993-94 Nagorno Karabakh War Documentary By Roger Kupelian