Four Armenian servicemen killed by Azerbaijani shelling

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
28 Jun 2023 11:05

Four Armenian servicemen were killed in the Nagorno-Karabakh region after Azerbaijani forces shelled positions in the disputed region.

Azerbaijani howitzers fire munitions toward Armenian positions on October 22, 2020 (Azerbaijan Ministry of Defense/Handout)

Four Armenian soldiers were killed Wednesday in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region by Azerbaijani fire, according to the Armenpress news agency, citing the separatist Defense Ministry of the disputed region.

At 1:30 am local time, "units of the Azerbaijani armed forces opened fire with artillery" on Armenian positions, the Ministry said.

"Four servicemen were killed in action as a result of another provocation by Azerbaijan," it said.

Later, the army confirmed in another statement that the situation is now relatively stable at the border after heightened tensions.

The region has been subject to decades of dispute as both Armenia and Azerbaijan have laid claim to the area.

Back in 2020, war broke out between the two Caucasian countries over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Six weeks of violence in the autumn of 2020 claimed over 6,500 lives and ended with a ceasefire accord sponsored by Russia. Russia sent 2,000 peacekeepers to monitor the truce, but tensions remained despite a ceasefire deal. In 2022, clashes resumed, with each party accusing the other of initiating the shelling.

Wednesday's news comes as the United States has reportedly opened closed-door talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Earlier, reports showed the US is pressuring delegates from the Nagorno-Karabakh region to hold a meeting with Azerbaijani representatives in a neutral location. They gave them an ultimatum, stating that failure to comply will result in Azerbaijani forces carrying out a "counterterrorism operation" against them, a source in Washington told Sputnik.

"Washington is forcing the representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh in an ultimatum-like way to agree in the near future to a meeting with the Azerbaijani side in a third country with the participation of an American curator. The goal is to introduce the United States into the region," the source revealed.

The US seeks to leave its imprint on an issue that has largely been managed by Moscow, which headlined the peace talks between the two parties back in May.