Baku, Azerbaijan, May 31
Trend:
Starting from May 30 night until May 31 morning, Armenian armed forces were shelling Azerbaijani army positions and settlements in the country’s Tartar, Aghdam and Fuzuli districts by using heavy weapons, including 82-mm and 120-mm mortars, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said May 31.
There were no casualties among the Azerbaijani armed forces’ personnel and civilians of the settlements, according to the ministry.
As a result of adequate response measures, Azerbaijani armed forces suppressed the enemy shelling, the ministry noted.
If such provocations by the Armenian armed forces continue, the Azerbaijani armed forces will open fire at Armenian settlements by using artillery systems capable of hitting targets at longer distances, the ministry added.
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.