13:32, 8 July 2020

Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of shelling village

Servicemen of the Azerbaijani Army. Photo: press service of the Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan, https://mod.gov.az/az/news/mudafie-naziri-on-xett-bolmelerinde-olub-video-31397.html

The positions of the Azerbaijani Army deployed in the village on the border with Armenia and in the Karabakh conflict zone were shelled for 78 times during the last 24 hours, including from large-calibre machine guns and sniper rifles, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MoD) has stated today.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 7, Azerbaijan counted 37 shelling attacks on its positions located in the Karabakh conflict zone during the past 24 hours; and the day earlier, it claimed 57 such attacks.

"Units of the Armenian Armed Forces, by using heavy machine guns and sniper rifles, violated the ceasefire in various sections of the frontline for 78 times during the last 24 hours," the Azerbaijani MoD has reported on its website today.

The Azerbaijani positions, stationed in the village of Alibeili, Tovuz District, and on nameless heights in the Gadabay District, came under fire.

The fire was also delivered from the territories that Azerbaijan considers as its occupied ones, as follows from the message of the country's MoD.

As of 8:45 a.m. Moscow time today, the MoDs of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh had not commented on this statement in their websites.

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 July 8, 2020 at 09:22 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.