“The fighting continues along the entire line. The most intense battles take place in the north and the far south. The opponent is constantly trying to move forward, but he fails to do so thanks to decisive actions of the defense army units” – a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defense announced on Twitter on Sunday evening. Armenia Shushan Stepanyan.
Nagorno-Karabakh leader Arajik Harutiunian announced on Twitter on Sunday afternoon that “as a self-defense, in response to deliberate shelling from banned cluster munitions lasting many days,” he ordered the bombing of military facilities in Ganja in the west Azerbaijan.
“The neutralization of military facilities in Ganja was a peace act aimed at sobering up aggressors from Turkey and Azerbaijan who are making extensive use of terrorists against Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh,” he added. “We have not and will not target the economic and civil infrastructure in Azerbaijan, we only focus on military infrastructures that pose a threat to the existence of a peaceful civilian population in Nagorno-Karabakh,” he stressed.
Arajik Harutiunian noted that “the war is not against the people of Azerbaijan” who suffer “from the irresponsible and reckless behavior of Azerbaijani military-political leadership” supported by Turkey.
Azerbaijan: It was an attack by Armenia
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release that on Sunday Armenian armed forces “continued missile fire against civilians and civil infrastructure in the city of Tatar as well as in the city of Horadiz.”
“The second largest city in Azerbaijan, Ganja, has come under missile fire from the territory of Armenia. As a result of deliberate fire on Armenia, 22 Azerbaijani civilians, including 2 students, have been killed so far, and 74 have been injured,” reads the Azerbaijani side.
“Deliberate attacks against the civilian population and civilian facilities by Armenia constitute a gross violation of international law, including international humanitarian law,” emphasizes the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defense of Armenia, in response to reports of the attack, said that “no fire is opened from the territory of Armenia towards Azerbaijan”.
Armenian authorities announced on Sunday about missiles directed by Azerbaijan, including on Stepanakert, the largest city of Nagorno-Karabakh. In turn President Azerbaijani Ilham Aliyev tweeted about “the liberation from the occupation of the city of Dzhrakan and the surrounding area”. “Dead army Azerbaijan! Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijan “- commented the politician.
Nagorno-Karabakh. Fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan
For a week now, the Azerbaijani army has been attacking the positions of local separatists and Armenian units to regain control of the region. Fighters report on casualties and wounded among both soldiers and civilians.
The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh has been going on for at least 22 years. At the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, there was an open war in which over 30,000 people died. A ceasefire agreement has been in force in the region since 1994, and has been repeatedly violated by the soldiers of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Yerevan supports the Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh, and Baku believes that the area belongs to Azerbaijan.
The representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan have announced that they will sit down at the table when the rifles in Nagorno-Karabakh go silent and there will be no other soldier. According to independent observers, this condition is very difficult to meet. The international community appeals to the authorities in Yerevan and Baku to stop fighting and start negotiations.
