Azerbaijan has resumed offensive operations in the south of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Ministry of Defense of Armenia said. A ceasefire has been in force in this separatist region since November 10.
Azerbaijani soldiers in Nagorno-Karabakh (arch.)
/AFP
According to a statement from the Ministry of Defense of Armenia, quoted on Saturday by the Armenian editorial staff of Radio Free Europe (Radio Azatutyun), Azerbaijani forces attacked in the area of Chin Taglar and Zayaberd in the southern part of Nagorno-Karabakh.
“The defense forces are taking appropriate action” – the ministry said.
Radio Azatutyun reports that the defense forces of Nagorno-Karabakh earlier informed about an attempt to attack one of the Armenian positions in the south of the region.
On the night of November 9-10, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia (as guarantors) signed a ceasefire declaration, which interrupted the military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh.
This separatist region is an Armenian enclave, located de jure in the territory of Azerbaijan. This region and several adjoining regions (also on the territory of Azerbaijan) were controlled by the Armenians since the war in the 1990s.
In September, Azerbaijan made an attempt to regain control of the region. After six weeks of fighting, during which Baku gained a significant advantage and territorial gains, with the support of Turkey, a trilateral peace agreement was signed on the night of November 9-10.
It led to a ceasefire and brought Russian peacekeepers into the region to remain there for at least five years. Armenia undertook to transfer to Azerbaijan the occupied territories in Nagorno-Karabakh and three adjacent regions. The road connecting Armenia with the capital of the separatist region, Stepanakertem, is to be protected by Russian troops.
The deal, which caused euphoria in Azerbaijan, sparked political conflict and protests in Armenia, and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was accused of treason.
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