BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct. 2
Trend:
Armenia is already sending women to the front line, Spokesman for the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, Colonel Vagif Dargahli said, Trend reports on Oct. 2.
“The Armenian armed forces, suffering big losses during the fierce battles, have been recently experiencing a great shortage of personnel,” Dargahli said.
“Along with the big number of casualties, the reason is the demoralization of the personnel of a number of units of the Armenian armed forces on the front line and frequent refusal of servicemen to go into battle,” the spokesman said.
“The growing number of casualties and the lack of reserve forces forced the Armenian Ministry of Defense to appeal to the women of the country,” Dargahli said. “The Armenian Ministry of Defense has already formed a women's battalion, which currently becomes complete.”
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 took important, strategic heights under control.
Military actions continued on Sept. 29 - Oct. 1. According to a statement from Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry, the Armenian armed forces have suffered heavy losses along the entire front line from Sept. 27 through Sept. 30, including tanks, armored vehicles, artillery installations, rocket launch systems, as well as command and observation posts, air defense systems, etc.
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.