BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 13
By Samir Ali - Trend:
Azerbaijani army, in a response to previous provocation, inflicted strikes on Armenian army's stronghold, destroying manpower, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry’s press office.
Starting from noon on July 12, units of the armed forces of Armenia, grossly violating the ceasefire on the Azerbaijani-Armenian state border (Azerbaijan's Tovuz region), opened artillery fire at Azerbaijani positions. Azerbaijan's armed response forced the Armenian army to retreat, suffering losses.
On the night of July 12-13, tensions continued on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border in the Tovuz district’s direction.
In the night battles involving artillery, mortars and tanks, Azerbaijani military divisions destroyed the stronghold, artillery installations, automotive equipment and manpower of the Armenian military unit.
During the battles, the senior lieutenant of the Azerbaijani army, Rashid Mahmudov was killed.
Currently, the situation is under the control of Azerbaijani troops.
"The Armenian side hides information about its losses," said the ministry.
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, 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 the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.