Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 6
By Elmira Tariverdiyeva - Trend:
It is a tragedy that people who have suffered so much in the past are now being killed, wounded and displaced once again, Tony Adams - one of the UK's most recognizable footballers, told The European Azerbaijan Society (TEAS).
Adams made the remarks while speaking on the upsurge in fighting in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Azerbaijan's occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region.
"I have lived and worked in Azerbaijan and visited many of the communities which came under fire last week," Adams said.
Since 2010, he has worked in Azerbaijan, initially as manager of Gabala FC and then as director of the multidisciplinary Gabala Sports Club.
"All of us at Gabala Sports Club are hoping the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh will hold - civilians should never be targeted in war and deserve to live in peace and security," Adams said.
On the night of April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from the Armenian side, which used large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers.
The armed clashes resulted in deaths and injuries among the Azerbaijani population. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-attack, which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements. More than 370 Armenian soldiers, 12 tanks, 12 armored vehicles and 15 artillery guns have been destroyed from April 2 until today.
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.