OSCE to monitor Azerbaijani-Armenian contact line
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is expected to monitor the contact line of the Azerbaijani and Armenian armies on August 1.
The monitoring will be held under the mandate of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Personal Representative, on the contact line located near the village of Kuropatkino of Azerbaijan's Khojavend region, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry reported on July 31.
On the Azerbaijani side, the monitoring will be carried out by the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Personal Representative, Andrzej Kasprzyk and field assistant of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Personal Representative, Jiri Aberle.
On the opposite side, the monitoring will be conducted by field assistants of OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Personal Representative, Evgeny Sharov, Hristo Hristov and Peter Svedberg.
The ministry further reported that the ceasefire on the Armenian-Azerbaijani contact line was broken 96 times in numerous positions during the last 24 hours.
The armed forces of Armenia, located in the villages of Berkaber and Paravakar of Armenia's Ijevan region, fired at the positions of Azerbaijani armed forces located in the villages of Gizilhajili of Gazakh and Kohnegishlag of Aghstafa region.
Also, the Azerbaijani positions, located in the villages of Kokhanebi and Alibeyli of Tovuz region, took fire from the positions located at the nameless heights and in the village of Aygepar of Armenia's Berd region.
Moreover, the armed forces of Azerbaijan underwent fire from the positions located at the nameless heights and near the villages of Merzili, Yusifjanli, Shuraabad, Bash Gervend, Shikhlar of Aghdam, Ashagi Veyselli, Ashagi Seyidahmadli, Ashagi Abdurrahmanli, Horadiz, Gorgan of Fizuli, Chilaburt, Chayli, Gizil Oba of Terter and Kuropatkino of Khojavend region.
The opposing side was silenced with return fire.
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.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.