Armenian forces set fire to occupied Azerbaijani territories
By Sara Rajabova
The Armenian armed forces deployed in Azerbaijan's occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region have once again committed arsons in the territories under Armenian invasion.
This time, Armenian soldiers set fire to pastures and agricultural fields located on the heights in Aghdam region, local media reported.
The fire may spread to nearby forest areas. It has already raged in a vast area.
Armenian armed forces frequently commit large-scale arsons in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, especially in summer.
In the latest violence, Armenian soldiers set fire to Bash Gervend village of Azerbaijan's Aghdam region on the contact line of Armenian and Azerbaijani troops.
The rodents, infestants and poisonous snakes which flocked to the lowland areas of the country escaping from the fires, entered the fields and private farms massively, destroying the cultivated fields and at the same time seriously threatened the lives of people.
The arsons have left massive loss of natural resources, flora and fauna. The fires also adversely have affected the agriculture of the villages located in the frontline areas, as the Armenians deliberately set fire to the territories in the spring and summer months when the crops are cultivated and harvested.
The persistent fires in the occupied territories and the protected areas along Araz River are destroying the entire plant cover. This has bitter ramifications for the environment.
To date, the territories of Agdam, Fizuli, Jabrayil, Terter and Khojavand regions, which are situated on the troops' contact line, have been set ablaze deliberately by the Armenian invaders. The fire flames encircled thousands of hectares of land controlled by the Armenians, as well as spread over other territories and considerably damaged the nature there. A total of 96,000 hectares of pastures, hayfields and greeneries as well as forest fields were destroyed and the fertile soil surface became useless due to the perpetration of arsons by the Armenian soldiers in the occupied territories.
Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war.