...

Armenia again breaking agreement - Azerbaijani Defense Ministry

Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict Materials 18 April 2016 12:13 (UTC +04:00)
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry has rejected the information disseminated by the Armenian media that the the Azerbaijani armed forces allegedly wounded two Armenian servicemen in the northern direction of the line of contact.
Armenia again breaking agreement - Azerbaijani Defense Ministry

Baku, Azerbaijan, April 18

Trend:

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry has rejected the information disseminated by the Armenian media that the the Azerbaijani armed forces allegedly wounded two Armenian servicemen in the northern direction of the line of contact.

The ministry said that the Azerbaijani armed forces have not conducted any operations, and only struck back at the positions of Armenia, violating the ceasefire regime. According to the ministry, the Armenian servicemen injured themselves because of a lack of discipline.

The purpose of this information is to violate the agreements on the suspension of military operations, the ministry told Trend April 18.

According to the agreement, the bodies of soldiers left on the battlefield must be found and carried out in the northern direction of the line of contact in the morning of April 19, the ministry added.

The ministry said that while spreading misinformation, Armenia is trying once again to violate the conditions of the reached agreement.

The ministry added that Armenia is trying to hide its losses and delay the processes, while the spread information is unfounded.

Earlier, the Armenian side disseminated the information that an Azerbaijani soldier's body remains in Armenia. Despite the ICRC talks, Armenia refused to hand it over to the Azerbaijani side.

A demonstrative refusal of Armenia to return the body of an Azerbaijani soldier, despite previously reached agreements, is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, in particular the Geneva Convention and the provisions of additional protocols, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hikmat Hajiyev told Trend Apr. 18.

On the night of April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from the Armenian side, which used large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers. The armed clashes resulted in deaths and injuries among the Azerbaijani population. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-attack, which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements.

Military operations were stopped on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian armies on Apr. 5 at 12:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours) with the consent of the sides, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry earlier said. Ignoring the agreement, the Armenian side again started violating the ceasefire.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

Tags:
Latest

Latest