BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct.6
Trend:
Azerbaijani Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman) Sabina Aliyeva issued a statement in connection with the missile attack of the city of Mingachevir by the Armenian Armed Forces, where a large dam and power plant are located, Trend reports on Oct.6.
According to the statement, on October 4, 2020, at about 11:00 (GTM+4), the Armenian Armed Forces made missile attack on the densely populated areas of Mingachevir city.
“The forces are deliberately attacking the city, located at a distance of more than 100 km from the ongoing hostilities zone, in which more than 100,000 people live,” the statement said. “One of the missiles fell in the area of the power plant, and another - near a house where civilians live. Unfortunately, as a result of the missile’s hitting a private house, five people received injuries of varying severity and were hospitalized, and the house was heavily damaged. This industrial city has the largest dam in the South Caucasus region and power plant.”
“Striking these targets could have serious environmental consequences for the South Caucasus. Armenia, grossly violating the norms and principles of international law, including international humanitarian law, especially the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, made missile attack on the Mingachevir Dam and the power unit of the Mingachevir Power Plant, which poses a serious threat to the environment and energy supply not only in Azerbaijan, but throughout the region,” the statement emphasized.
"We once again call on international organizations to force the aggressive Armenia to stop the criminal actions leading to the risk of a very heavy environmental disaster in the region and a gross violation of the civilian population's right to a safe life, to demand Armenia de-occupy Nagorno-Karabakh region and surrounding districts, which are the historical lands of Azerbaijan, and to take urgent measures providing for international legal responsibility," the statement concluded.
Armenian Armed Forces launched a large-scale military attack on positions of Azerbaijani army on the front line, using large-caliber weapons, mortars and artillery on Sept. 27.
Azerbaijan responded with a counter-offensive along the entire front. As a result of retaliation, Azerbaijani troops liberated a number of territories previously occupied by Armenia, as well as take important, strategic heights under control.
The fighting continued into October 2020, in the early days of which Armenia has launched missile attacks on Azerbaijani cities of Ganja, Mingachevir, Khizi as well as Absheron district.
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.