Baku, Azerbaijan, May 6
By Samir Ali - Trend:
Representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Azerbaijan, who earlier departed to the frontline zone, visited the Azerbaijani district of Terter, the district's executive authority told Trend May 6.
The trip to the frontline zone was organized by Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry.
The diplomats met with the district's head, Mustagim Mammadov, who informed them about the major damage inflicted to Terter by the Armenian shelling.
Afterwards the diplomats viewed the houses shelled and destroyed by the Armenians, as well as the affected office buildings and land plots in the villages along the line of contact and in the center of the Terter city.
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.
Starting from April 27 evening until 04:00 (GMT + 4) April 28, the Armenian armed forces were firing at the Azerbaijani settlements and the Azerbaijani army positions in the Terter and Aghdam districts of Azerbaijan.
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.