Armenian sabotage groups attack Azerbaijani positions, suffer losses
By Sara Rajabova
Armenian sabotage and reconnaissance groups tried to cross the contact line between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops last night, Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said.
The Ministry said after suffering losses during an intense exchange of fire, the Armenians were forced to retreat.
Lieutenant Karen Galstyan and Artak Sargsyan were killed according to the preliminary data, Armenian media reported on January 23.
Armenian armed forces have aggravated the tensions on the contact line between two sides over the past several days. The ceasefire violations by the Armenian troops reached 87 times over past 24 hours.
The Ministry stressed that the Azerbaijani armed forces suffered no losses and Azerbaijani servicemen are now in full control of situation along the contact line.
Earlier, the Ministry accused Armenian media of spreading false information. The Ministry rejected as baseless Armenian media reports on January 22 clashes.
“Azerbaijani armed forces have not suffered any losses. Azerbaijani soldiers bravely crushed the enemy and now in full control of the operational situation on the contact line of troops,” the Ministry’s statement reads.
The Armenian side is trying to hide its provocative actions on the contact line of Armenian-Azerbaijani troops by periodically spreading such false reports.
Despite calls by the international community to abide by the ceasefire agreement with Azerbaijan, Armenia continues its provocations on the frontline.
Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. The bloody war, which flared up due to Armenia's territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor, left without home over a million of civilians of Nagorno-Karabakh and the regions adjoining it, as well as the regions bordering with Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.
They are temporarily settled in more than 1,600 settlements across 62 cities and regions of Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijanis who were displaced from their homes as result of the brutal war were forced to live in refugee camps, tents and wagons in very difficult conditions.
Moreover, thousands of Azerbaijanis have been expelled from Armenia and become refugees due to Armenia's ethnic cleansing policy after the emergence of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan. As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, 4,866 are reported missing and almost 100,000 were injured, and 50,000 were disabled.
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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
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