BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct. 28
Trend:
The attack on Barda city by Armenia with the use of cluster bombs, as a result of which 14 people were killed and more than 40 were injured, is another striking example of vandalism and barbarism of the country, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev said, Trend reports on Oct.28.
Hajiyev said that the use of cluster shells banned by international law by Armenia is the new act of genocide against the Azerbaijani people.
According to him, using these shells, Armenia is trying to kill as many civilians as possible.
“Armenia continues this terror at the state level. The criminal order to commit the attack was directly given by Pashinyan. Azerbaijan is far from attacking civilians. We are responding to the Armenians on the battlefield,” the assistant to the president emphasized.
“Armenians won't be able to weaken us, neither break our will by making such attacks. On the contrary, we are becoming stronger from this," added Hajiyev.
Armenian Armed Forces launched a large-scale military attack on positions of the 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 take important, strategic heights under control.
The fighting continued into October 2020, in the early days of which Armenia has launched missile attacks on Azerbaijani cities of Ganja, Mingachevir, Khizi as well as Absheron district.
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, the 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.