Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 16
By Elmir Murad - Trend:
Armenia involves armed "druzhinniks" (local police aides) in protection of its border villages, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry told Trend Oct.16.
The defense ministry went on to add that this fact is not new.
If earlier, Armenia used such tactics only in the occupied territories, today it is forced to attract civilians along with the army in order to protect its border villages, said the ministry.
"As we stated many times, Armenia continues deploying civilians to trenches due to the acute shortage of soldiers, chaos, fear, lack of discipline and an increase in desertions," said the ministry.
The ministry went on to add that on the contrary, Azerbaijani armed forces with high morale and fighting spirit continue taking necessary measures to prevent all provocations of the enemy and inflict devastating retaliatory blows.
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 two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.