Armenian army units open fire on positions of Azerbaijani army, no casualties reported, says Defense Ministry
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AA) – Azerbaijan said that its army posts in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic came under fire by Armenian forces on Friday.
“On August 6, starting from 12:45 p.m. (0845 GMT), the Armenian armed forces units from the positions in the Arazdeyen settlement of the Vedi region using small arms subjected to fire the positions of the Azerbaijan Army in the direction of the Sadarak region of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
“There are no losses or wounded among the military personnel of the Azerbaijan Army,” stressed the statement, adding that everything is under control of the Azerbaijani army as “the opposing side was suppressed by retaliation fire”.
Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
New clashes erupted in September last year and ended on Nov. 10 with a Russia-brokered cease-fire.
During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from Armenia’s nearly three-decade occupation.
The cease-fire is seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia, whose armed forces withdrew in line with the agreement.
A joint Turkish-Russian center was established to monitor the truce. Russian peacekeeping troops have also been deployed in the region.