Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.14
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) should support Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, TRT Haber TV channel quoted Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu as saying Apr.14.
The latest developments in the region require the OIC countries to show a single position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, according to the prime minister.
The 13th Islamic Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation has kicked off in Istanbul. Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev is among the leaders attending the event.
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.
Edited by SI
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