Baku, Azerbaijan, July 6
Trend:
The recent actions of the Armenian armed forces against Azerbaijani civilians cause serious regret, Iranian ambassador to Azerbaijan Javad Jahangirzadeh said at a press-conference in Baku.
In this regard, the diplomat expressed condolences to Azerbaijan and the relatives of the civilians killed and injured as a result of Armenia’s provocation.
"We condemn military actions against civilians,” he said. “The international norms and laws condemn the violation of humanitarian law. Such inciting actions taken by Armenians will more aggravate the situation, rather than contribute to the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict politically and peacefully.”
The diplomat called the murder of two-year-old Zakhra as a criminal offense.
"Azerbaijan is entitled to investigate illegal actions against its citizens at the level of international organizations,” he said. “The OSCE Minsk Group must take serious actions to prevent ceasefire violation and similar actions against civilians."
On July 4 at about 20:40 (GMT+4 hours), the Armenian armed forces again violated ceasefire and, using 82-mm and 120-mm mortars and grenade launchers, shelled Azerbaijani positions and territories where the civilian population lives, namely the Alkhanli village of the country’s Fuzuli district, thereby grossly violating the requirements of international law, the Azerbaijani defense ministry said earlier.
As a result of this provocation, the residents of the village Sakhiba Guliyeva, 50, and Zakhra Guliyeva, 2, were killed. Servinaz Guliyeva, 52, who got wounded, was taken to the hospital and was operated on.
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.