Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 20
Trend:
The body of Armenian serviceman, who died during the recent military operations on the contact line between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops has been handed over to the Armenian side, Azerbaijan's State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing People told Trend Apr. 20.
The commission added that the body of the Armenian serviceman was located April 11.
The process of handing over the body took place without incidents and was carried out by the state commission and Azerbaijani Defense Ministry under the mediation of the ICRC and the OSCE.
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.
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.