Armenia accuses Azerbaijan of shelling positions near border

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
5 Oct 2022 23:06
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Azerbaijan, using mortars and large-caliber weapons, fired at Armenian positions on the border.

A Russian peacekeeper guards an entry of the Dadivank, an Armenian Apostolic Church monastery near Kalbajar, Azerbaijan, on December 2, 2020 (AFP)

The Armenian Defense Ministry accused the Azerbaijani armed forces of shelling Armenian positions on the border, on Wednesday.

"On Oct 5, at 19:40-20:00 p.m. [15:40-16:00 GMT], the units of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan, using mortars and large-caliber weapons, opened fire in the direction of the Armenian combat positions located in the eastern part of the Arm-Aze border," the ministry said on Twitter.

Firing from the Azerbaijani side has stopped for the time being, according to the ministry. Baku's defense ministry has accused Yerevan of violating a ceasefire, shelling Armenia's positions on the border.

"On the evening of October 5 [Wednesday], Armenian armed forces units from the positions in the direction of the Yukhari Shorzha settlement of the Basarkechar region using small arms subjected to fire the Azerbaijan Army positions, stationed in the Alagollar direction of the Kalbajar region," the ministry said in a statement, asserting that Azerbaijan took the "adequate retaliatory measures."

Baku accused the Armenian military on September 12 of firing at the positions of the Azerbaijani troops near the border. Yerevan, in turn, said that the Azerbaijani military shelled the Armenian side, using artillery and drones, as a result of which several Armenian servicemen were killed.

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry also reported losses in its ranks. The clashes continued the following day and Armenia demanded that an international observer mission be deployed on the ground.

A Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) mission landed on September 15 at the Armenia-Azerbaijan border to monitor both sides.