Anna wife of Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan becomes part of a 13-member female squad

Anna Hakobyan, the wife of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, has enlisted herself as part of a 13-member female squad, to defend the borders of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is the main area of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

"A detachment of 13 females, including myself, will begin military training exercises," Anna Hakobyan, 42, wrote on her Facebook page.

“In a few days we will depart to assist with the protection of our borders,” the post read. “Neither our homeland nor our dignity will be surrendered to the enemy.”

This will be her second military training course since the resurgence of tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Just last month, Hakobyan and a group of women from Karabakh underwent a seven-day combat training course at a military base, where they learnt how to use arms and ammunition, AFP reported.

Recently, pictures with Anna Hakobyan’s Kalashnikov automatic rifle went viral.

Anna is said to have been a peacemaker in the year 2018 and she appealed to the women of Azerbaijan for peace.

The Prime Minister of Armenia has described the situation on the battle front as very serious and appealed to the people of the country to take up arms.

Earlier this month, 20-year-old son of Armenia PM Ashot has also enrolled to become a volunteer in the fight.

More than 2 thousand people of Armenia have died in this war.

The most recent outburst of fighting between the two warring nations broke out in September.

Three ceasefire agreements, attempted separately by Russia and the United States, have failed to take affect as tensions continue to escalate in the region.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in a bitter conflict over Karabakh since Armenian separatists backed by Yerevan seized control of the mountainous province in a 1990s war that left 30,000 people dead.

Karabakh’s self-declared independence has not been recognised internationally, even by Armenia, and it remains a part of Azerbaijan under international law.

Earlier this month, Hakobyan, the chief editor of the Armenian Times newspaper, sent a letter to the First Ladies of the US, Canda, France, Brazil, Lebanon, Singapore, Lithuania, Argentina and Vietnam, urging them to “recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh, the civilian population of which is being attacked by Azerbaijan”.