Azerbaijan slams Armenians for setting fire to woodlands in Lachin, Khojaly districts, calls it ecocide

By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

Azerbaijan is to take legal actions against Armenians, who set fire to forests in Lachin and Khojaly districts, Azernews reports, citing Deputy Ecology Minister Firdovsi Aliyev.

The deputy minister vowed that those activities would be thoroughly reviewed and evaluated in conformity with international laws. He added that Azerbaijan strongly condemns scenes of setting fire to the woodlands as shown on video clips made in Lachin and Khojaly in recent days and considers them ecocide.

Aliyev emphasized that Armenia's eco-terror against Azerbaijan is still ongoing.

"Armenians who illegally settled on the territory of Azerbaijan continue to carry out ecological terror against our people, our nature, and natural resources, as well as against humanity as a whole. The Armenians, unlimited to burning the forests of Jabrayil, Zangilan, Gubadly, Kalbajar, and the city of Shusha during the occupation, are now harming the environment by burning our forests in Khojaly and Lachin. These actions are a direct confirmation of the hostile attitude towards nature. In addition, they thereby demonstrate that they have nothing in common with these territories," he said.

New images and videos exposing the devastation of Azerbaijani lands have been circulating on social media for many days. A video was released showing Armenians setting fire to the woodlands in Azerbaijan's Lachin District. This once again demonstrates Armenians' disregard for international law.

Armenians committed the same crime before departing Azerbaijan's Kalbajar District, which was agreed to be handed over to Azerbaijan in line with the trilateral statement by the Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders on November 10, 2020.