Armenian military units violate truce, target civilians-UPDATE

/By Azernews/

By Nazrin Gadimova

Armenia's repeated violation of the armistice with Azerbaijan on the frontline once more demonstrated Yerevan's unwillingness to peaceful solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Over the last two days, Armenian military forces breached truce by using heavy artillery despite the previous ceasefire agreement with Azerbaijan.

The Armenian Armed Forces intensively fired at the Azerbaijani positions in the direction of Agdere region and some villages of the Terter region adjacent to the frontline area using large-caliber guns, mortars and rocket launchers, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said on April 24.

As a result of enemy’s shelling a house belonging to a resident of the Shikharh village of Terter region was destroyed, the ministry said.

“The enemy, using a 122-mm D-30 howitzer, fired 20 shots in the direction of our positions,” the ministry stressed, adding that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces have taken immediate operational measures to prevent further escalation of military activity.

The ministry reported that the Azerbaijani military forces have fired enemy’s tanks, which were trying to move closer to Azerbaijan’s positions. “The enemy has lost a battle tank with its crew and thus, was forced to retreat in the direction of Agdere,” the defense ministry said.

"Our units have not suffered any losses. Azerbaijani Armed Forces have a total control over the operational situation and are conducting twenty-four-hour monitoring of enemy’s movements,” the ministry’s statement reads.

Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry stressed that Armenia is trying to involve the Azerbaijani side in the active hostilities by carrying out provocations on the contact line of troops. The Armenian criminal military regime is entirely and solely responsible for the provocations that take place at the frontline.

Moreover, the ministry believes that the only solution to the long-lasting Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which emerged as a result of Armenian aggression in early 1990s, is the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

Armenia captured 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territories as a result of 1992-94 war. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations and signing of another agreement on truce in 1995. However, Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.