Armenia shells Azerbaijani positions in Lachin, Kalbajar, Tovuz, Shusha

By Azernews

By Vafa Ismayilova

Azerbaijan has reported that Armenia shelled its army positions in Lachin, Kalbajar, Tovuz regions and Shusha city on August 19 and 20.

On August 19 starting from 1724 to 0025 August 20 the Armenian armed forces units from the positions in Gorus region's Khanazakh settlement, Basarkechara's Ashaghi Zaghali settlement and Berd's Chinarli settlement fired at the Azerbaijan army positions in Lachin's Jaghazur settlement, Kalbajar's Istisu settlement and Tovuz region's Asrik Jirdakhan settlement, using small arms periodically, the Defence Ministry reported on August 20.

The ministry added that on August 20 starting from 0123, illegal Armenian armed detachments on the Azerbaijani territory, where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily deployed, using small arms periodically shelled the Azerbaijan army units positions stationed in the vicinity of the Khalfali settlement of Shusha city.

The opposing side was suppressed by retaliatory fire. There are no losses among the Azerbaijani army personnel. Currently, the situation in this direction is stable, the Azerbaijan army units control the operational situation, the report added.

The past few weeks have seen the worst escalation of tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan since the signing of the November 10 statement that ended the last year’s hostilities between the two countries.

On August 11, Azerbaijan urged the Russian peacekeepers to end the illegal deployment of Armenian troops in Azerbaijan’s territories under their temporary control.

Later on August 14, President Ilham Aliyev reiterated that Azerbaijan has recently identified that Armenian troops are being sent to Karabakh via the Lachin corridor that is controlled by the Russian peacekeepers and stressed that this contradicts the 10 November peace deal signed by Baku, Moscow and Yerevan. 

About 2,000 Russian peacekeepers have been deployed for five years in Karabakh under the Moscow-brokered trilateral cease-fire deal. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw all its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it had occupied since the early 1990s.

The deal also stipulated the return of Azerbaijan’s Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions. Before the signing of the peace deal, Azerbaijan liberated 300 villages, settlements, city centres, and historic Shusha city that had been under Armenian occupation for about 30 years.