Azerbaijani Armed Forces destroy enemy's armored vehicles
By Rashid Shirinov
The Azerbaijani Armed Forces timely detected and destroyed Armenia’s combat vehicles, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry told Trend on March 1.
The ministry commented on the information spread by Armenian media that the Azerbaijani armed forces used SPIKE anti-tank guided missile against the Armenian armed forces in the direction of Azerbaijan’s Khojavend region.
“On February 28, units of the Armenian armed forces tried to bring armored vehicles to the frontline with the aim of strengthening their positions. Units of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces promptly discovered and destroyed the enemy’s armored vehicles performing maneuvers,” the ministry said.
The Defense Ministry emphasized that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces are entitled to use any modern weapon at their disposal, along the whole frontline, and are able to prevent hostile actions of the enemy.
The ministry said that mercenaries of Armenian origin constitute the majority of the losses the enemy had in the last days; therefore, the opposite side deliberately conceals the casualty figures.
The situation on the contact line of Armenian and Azerbaijani troops has deteriorated in recent days.
At midnight on February 25, units of the Armenian armed forces attempted to penetrate into the positions of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. The Armenian armed group aimed to conduct large-scale provocation on the frontline and to seize advantageous positions in Khojavand-Fizuli direction of the frontline. After heavy battles between the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces bravely prevented the Armenian attacks. Unfortunately, Azerbaijan had casualties during the battles.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.
Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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