14:11, 19 August 2020

Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of shelling attacks on five villages

Soldiers of the Armenia Army. Photo: http://mil.am/hy/news/8213

The positions of the Azerbaijani troops in the villages on the border with Armenia and in the Karabakh conflict zone were shelled 40 times over 24 hours, including from large-calibre machine guns and sniper rifles, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Azerbaijan reports today.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 18, Azerbaijan counted 30 shelling attacks on the positions of its troops in the conflict zone, while a day earlier, 31 shelling attacks were claimed.

"Units of the armed forces of Armenia used large-calibre machine guns and sniper rifles and 40 times violated the ceasefire in various directions of the front over 24 hours," the Azerbaijani MoD reports on its website today.

The Azerbaijani positions were shelled in the villages of Alibeili, Agdam, Kokhanebi, Asrik Djyrdakhan, and Agbulag in the Tovuz District and on unnamed heights in the Gadabay District.

The fire also came from the territories considered by Azerbaijan as its occupied territories, the Azerbaijani MoD reported.

As at 9:00 a.m. Moscow time on today, the Ministries of Defence of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh have not yet posted on their official websites any comments on the statement released by the Azerbaijani MoD.

The conflict escalated on July 12, when Azerbaijan accused Armenia of trying to attack its positions. According to the Armenian side, the reason for escalation was an Azerbaijan's attempt to break through the border. According to official information, from July 12 to July 27, six military servicemen perished and 38 others were wounded from the Armenian side. In their turn, Azerbaijani authorities reported 13 killed and four wounded militaries.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 19, 2020 at 09:07 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.