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Hugo Casales
Juan Alvarado
Ivan Yakovlev
Sa Law
Comrade Grace
Albert Minasyan
Zaza Geladze
Major Luis Ospina
Nati Mazuz
Mousa Ibragim Osman
Jimmy Katumba
Eliana Gonzales
Shushila Magar
Chong-Cha Lee
Ahmed Zia
Muktar
Albert Minasyan
By Neil Harvey
Video producer in Nagorno Karabakh

I flew from London to Yerevan in Armenia, where I continued by car for eight hours to Stepanakert in Azerbaijan. This is the main town in Nagorno Karabakh.

A militarised zone exists around Stepanakert. No civilians are allowed to enter, but I eventually received official accreditation.

The government provided me with a character for my film: Nineteen-year-old Albert Minasyan.

Albert was a fairly typical, cooperative and bright young soldier. After his obligatory two-year stint in the army, he wants to continue studying economics.

The ethnic Armenians have been pushing the Azeris out of the region from the mountainous regions to the plains.

The Armenians are fighting for international recognition of an independent Nagorno Karabakh and the conflict currently amounts to an unstable ceasefire.

Routine

The day of 22 March was another all-too-familiar day of trench warfare.

I heard gun shots throughout the day, but there was no sense of immediate danger

A small platoon of troops - about 16 men - patrolled the front line in shifts.

They stayed in a bunker about 500m from the front line and took up different positions during two-hour stints.

After their shift, they left the bunker or trench and went back to camp, where they rested for a while and then continued to train.

The Karabakhis claim they do not attack, only defend themselves from the Azerbaijaini militia.

There were snipers lurking near the front line and I heard gun shots throughout the day, but there was no sense of immediate danger.

One Day of War was broadcast in the UK on Thursday, 27 May, 2004 at 2100 BST on BBC Two.


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