Baku, Azerbaijan, July 5
By Seba Aghayeva – Trend:
The Armenian Armed Forces systematically shell positions of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, head of the press service of the country’s Defense Ministry Vagif Dargahli said.
He made the remarks July 5 in Baku at a joint briefing of official representatives of the Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry and the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan, commenting on the latest developments on the contact line between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops.
The recent attack of the Armenian Armed Forces was committed against civilians, he said, adding that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces immediately responded to it.
“The Armenian troops suffered losses, although they hide it,” said Dargahli.
He also denied the information of the Armenian side about Azerbaijan’s using the US weapons.
Dargahli noted that the civilian population of Azerbaijani settlements is constantly shelled by the Armenian Armed Forces.
Earlier, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported that on July 4 at about 20:40 (GMT+4 hours), the Armenian armed forces using 82-mm and 120-mm mortars and grenade launchers shelled the Alkhanli village of Azerbaijan’s Fuzuli district.
As a result of this provocation, the residents of the village Sakhiba Guliyeva (born in 1967) and Zakhra Guliyeva (born in 2015) were killed. Servinaz Guliyeva (born in 1965), who got wounded, was taken to the hospital and was operated on.
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.