11:31, 17 July 2020

Children and elderly Azerbaijani frontline villagers sent to relatives due to shelling

On July 16, the warfare continued, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MoD) has informed. The villagers from the Tovuz District interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" were forced to evacuate their children and elderly relatives.

The situation on the border of the Tovuz District of Azerbaijan and the Tavush Region of Armenia escalated on July 12. On July 15, both sides reported a decline in the escalation, but on July 16, the Azerbaijani MoD announced the resumption of hostilities on the border.

According to the Armenian side, the situation aggravated after an Azerbaijan's attempt to break through the border. In its turn, the Azerbaijani MoD claims that the conflict escalated after Armenian militaries tried to launch an attack.

The shelling that started since early morning damaged one house in the village of Agdam, Tovuz District, and a fire in another one, Rakhilya Askerova, the head of the municipal council of the village, has stated.

During the first long pause in the shelling, villagers sent their children and elderly people away to their relatives, Mamed Aliev, a villager, has added.

Sadi Rustamov, the council head of the border village of Vakhidli, said that a shell explosion damaged a local resident's household – his haystack was burnt down.

Earlier, on July 15, the heads of municipal councils in the Tovuz District of Azerbaijan reported a stabilization of the situation at the borders; some of earlier evacuees returned home.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 17, 2020 at 01:10 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Faik Medjid

Source: CK correspondent