14:01, 2 August 2019

Azerbaijan registers 20 shelling attacks in conflict zone

Soldier of the Nagorno-Karabakh Army. Photo: press service of the Ministry of Defence of Nagorno-Karabakh, http://www.nkrmil.am/news/view/2144

The positions of the Azerbaijani army in the Karabakh conflict zone were shelled, including from sniper rifles, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for Azerbaijan reports today.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 1, Azerbaijan reported machine-gun fire in two districts. On July 31, the Azerbaijani side reported that its soldier was wounded as a result of a ceasefire violation from the Armenian side. Earlier, the Ministry of Defence for Armenia has reported that soldier Arman Bulgadaryan was killed and contract soldier Vladimir Osipyan was wounded from shots which came from the Azerbaijani side on July 28.

"The units of the Armenian armed forces used sniper rifles and 20 times violated the ceasefire in various directions of the front during the day," the Azerbaijani MoD reports on its website today.

According to the Azerbaijani MoD, the positions of the Azerbaijani army were shelled in the villages of Gushchu Airym and Mezem in the Gazakh District.

As at 9:40 a.m. Moscow time on today, the Ministries of Defence for Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh have not posted on their websites any comments on the statement released by the Azerbaijani MoD.

After the escalation of the Karabakh conflict in April 2016, the parties agreed on the ceasefire. Despite the agreement, over two years, the parties claimed daily shelling attacks in the conflict zone, as it follows from the infographic "Karabakh after the truce: a two-year war" prepared by the "Caucasian Knot". After the meeting of officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Armenia and Azerbaijan, held on June 20, Azerbaijan stated an almost complete cessation of shelling attacks; however, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Nagorno-Karabakh continues to register violations of the ceasefire.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 2, 2019 at 09:47 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.