Warming up again, Azerbaijan captures six Armenian soldiers

BAKU – Several months after the armistice ended the bloody war Nagorno Karabakh , Armenia and Azerbaijan back into the tension. The two countries have accused each other of carrying out attacks outside the heavily contested border, after six Armenian soldiers were detained on Thursday (27/5/2021).

“On May 27, at around 03:00, a reconnaissance and sabotage group of the Armenian armed forces attempted to cross the country’s borders,” read a statement issued by the Azerbaijani defense ministry as quoted by Russia Today.

Azerbaijani officials accused the six men arrested of trying to lay mines and disrupt supply routes in what was described as an act of terrorism.

However, on Thursday evening, Armenia’s acting prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, insisted that their soldiers had been kidnapped from inside the country.

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“Our soldiers are doing border control work with Azerbaijan (and) in the mines, putting up warning signs. There is no purpose of sabotage,” he explained.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry added that the provocative actions of the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan are aimed at worsening the situation, which could seriously undermine regional peace and stability.

However, Azerbaijan has also accused its neighbor of violating the terms of the Moscow-brokered trilateral agreement, which has halted heavy fighting that claimed the lives of thousands of soldiers on both sides during the brief Nagorno-Karabakh war.

In November last year, Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a ceasefire agreement to freeze conflict in the disputed region. Nagorno-Karabakh is considered a de jure part of Azerbaijan, but is home to many ethnic Armenians and is run almost autonomously by officials with close ties to Yerevan. The deal saw Armenia relinquish control of parts of the territory.

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However, it has been marred by accusations from both sides and fears that the conflict could flare up again. Earlier this month, Pashinyan claimed Azerbaijani troops had attempted to sneak into the country using fake ID cards to lay siege to a strategic lake that straddles the border.

Meanwhile in February, Baku accused Armenian forces of shooting across the border in what he described as a flagrant violation of the ceasefire. Yerevan denies the allegations.

(ian)

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