BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr. 7
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
War crimes were committed by Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Amnesty International Report 2020/21 said, Trend reports citing the report.
The organization said that several verified videos depicted the mistreatment of prisoners of war and other captives, and desecration of the dead bodies of enemy soldiers by the Armenian side.
“This included a video showing the murder of an Azerbaijani border guard who had his throat cut,” the report said.
The Amnesty International Report also said that verified evidence indicated that cluster munitions were used, which is banned under international humanitarian law, including in the attack on the city of Barda in an area under Azerbaijan government control, on October 28.
Following over a month of military action to liberate its territories from Armenian occupation from late Sept. to early Nov. 2020, Azerbaijan pushed Armenia to sign the surrender document. A joint statement on the matter was made by the Azerbaijani president, Armenia's PM, and the president of Russia.
A complete ceasefire and a cessation of all hostilities in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was introduced on Nov. 10, 2020.
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.
Back in July 2020, the Armenian Armed Forces violated the ceasefire in the direction of Azerbaijan's Tovuz district. As a result of Azerbaijan's retaliation, the opposing forces were silenced. The fighting continued the following days. Azerbaijan lost a number of military personnel members, who died fighting off the attacks of the Armenian Armed Forces.
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.