By Ruslan Rehimov
BAKU (AA):- Azerbaijan issued a final warning Monday to Armenia, which is continuing to attack civilian settlements.
The Defense Ministry said in a statement that the Azerbaijani city of Terter has been under fire from Armenian forces since this morning.
“The Ministry of Defense gives the last warning to Armenia that adequate retaliatory measures will be taken against them if needed,” it said.
“Another [act of] aggression by Armenia against Azerbaijan is a blatant violation of fundamental norms and principles of international law, international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols, as well as United Nations Security Council Resolutions 822, 853, 874, 884 of 1993, demanding the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the armed forces of Armenia from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan,” Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said said in a statement.
The ministry also shared aerial footage of the destruction of Armenian tanks and armored vehicles during the clashes.
Border clashes broke out early Sunday after Armenian forces targeted Azerbaijani civilian settlements and military positions in the region, which is also known as Upper Karabakh.
“The bombardment of densely populated civilian areas and installations situated along the front line by Armenia’s armed forces has been deliberate and targeted,” Hikmat Hajiyev, assistant to the president and foreign policy chief for Azerbaijan’s Presidency, said in a statement.
Early on Sunday, using large-caliber weapons, mortar launchers, and artillery, the Armenian army launched an intensive attack on the positions of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces along the frontline, as well as the villages of Gapanli of in the Tartar district, Chiragli and Orta Garavand in the Aghdam district, Alkhanli and Shukurbayli in the Fuzuli district, and Jojug Marjanli in the Jabrayil district, he said.
He underlined that under international law, the Armenian strikes against the positions of Azerbaijan’s army and against civilians and civilian infrastructure with the use of large-caliber weapons are yet another act of Armenian military aggression and a use of force against the country.
In a Sunday phone call, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan discussed the border clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh.
“The Russian side expressed deep concern over the continuation of large-scale military conflicts,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
“During the meeting, it was noted that it is important to take all necessary efforts to prevent further conflict and, more importantly, to halt military steps,” it added.
Border clashes broke out earlier in the day after Armenian forces targeted Azerbaijani civilian settlements and military positions
Both sides claimed that the other had launched the first attack in the long-disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, with Armenia saying its troops had shot down two Azerbaijani helicopters and destroyed three tanks in response to an air and artillery attack on civilians.
Azerbaijan said it had merely responded to Armenian shelling, replying to the threat of escalation by saying it saw no need for total military mobilisation because its army is already fully staffed.
Relations between the two former Soviet nations have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh [Nagorno-Kabarakh], an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.
Four UN Security Council and two UN General Assembly resolutions as well as many international organizations demand the withdrawal of the occupying forces.
The OSCE Minsk Group – co-chaired by France, Russia and the US – was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail. A cease-fire, however, was agreed upon in 1994.
France, Russia and NATO, among others, have urged an immediate halt to clashes in the occupied region.
Armenia is majority Christian and Azerbaijan mostly Muslim.
Additional report by The Muslim News
[Photo: Smoke rises after Armenian attacks on Azerbaijan border in Azerbaijan on September 27, 2020. Photographer: Resul Rehimov/AA]
