Baku slams Armenia's treacherous attacks on civilians outside of Karabakh conflict zone

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov  said that Armenian armed forces treacherously attack innocent civilians, including children and women in the cities located far away from the conflict zone.

Bayramov made the remarks during phone conversations with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs of Russia Igor Popov, U.S. Andrew Schofer and France Stephane Visconti on October 28 following the Armenian missile attack on Barda city that killed 21 civilians.

The minister briefed the co-chairs on the latest gross violation of the humanitarian ceasefire by the Armenian armed forces.

He stressed the deliberate targeting of the peaceful Azerbaijani population in Barda city on October 27-28.

Bayramov also underlined serious casualties among the civilians as a result of yet another war crime committed by Armenia.

It should be noted that on October 27, Armenia launched a missile attack at Barda region, as a result of which 5 civilians, including child, were killed and 13 civilians were injured. October 28, Armenian launched another missile attack at Barda region, as a result of which 21 civilians were killed and about 70 wounded.

The minister called the co-chairs to condemn these inhuman acts against Azerbaijani civilians.

In turn, OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs expressed their concern over the civilian casualties. In addition, co-chairs underlined the importance of de-escalation in the region and the peaceful settlement of the conflict.

Armenian armed forces launched a large-scale operation in the front-line zone on September 27 at 6 am, shelling the positions of the Azerbaijani army from large-calibre weapons, mortars, and artillery installations of various calibres. Armenia has been targeting Azerbaijan’s densely populated areas and infrastructure projects.

Starting from September 27, Armenia launched a missile attacks on Azerbaijani cities and regions - Ganja, Mingachevir, Khizi, Absheron, Tartar, Gabala, Kurdamir, Siyazan, Goranboy, Aghdam among others.

Additionally, Armenia targeted Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Novorossiysk pipelines and Oghuz- Gabala-Baku water pipeline.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France has been mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Group’s efforts have resulted in no progress and to this date, Armenia has failed to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) that demand the withdrawal of Armenian military forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.