Azerbaijani serviceman killed in Armenian attack on border

By Akbar Mammadov 

Armenia has staged another military provocation on the border, killing a serviceman of the Azerbaijan Army, the Defence Ministry reported on September 21.

Junior Sergeant Elshan Mammadov was killed at 09:20 on September 21 in the Tovuz direction on the Armenia-Azerbaijan state border, the ministry said.

The ministry emphasized that the situation on the line of contact between the two countries’ troops and in the direction of the state border with Armenia is increasingly aggravated by Armenia.

“Recently, there has been an increase in cases of gross violations of the ceasefire by the units of the armed forces of Armenia, regular shelling of our public settlements, civilians, and infrastructure near the line of contact, the use of larger-calibre weapons, reconnaissance-sabotage activities against the positions of our units, as well as the widespread use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have led to a serious aggravation of the situation on the frontline,” the statement reads.

In all cases, the units of the Azerbaijani Army have suppressed the Armenian provocation and the adversary has suffered heavy losses.

The ministry declared that the military-political leadership of Armenia bears the entire responsibility for the aggravation of the situation in the front.

The ministry reminded that on September 20, at 23.13, Azerbaijan's Air Defense Units destroyed a tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the units of the Armenian armed forces. This was the ninth UAV belonging to Armenian army units that have been downed in the Azerbaijani territories after attempting to carry out a reconnaissance flight over the positions of the Azerbaijani Army's units since July 16.

Earlier, on September 14, an Azerbaijani military serviceman was wounded as a result of Armenian cease-fire violation in the direction of Hajalli village in Azerbaijan’s Tovuz region on the state border. Azerbaijani Army’s Warrant Officer Aliyev Renat has received medical treatment and his condition is stable. 

It should be noted that Armenia has stepped up its military provocation recently, staging sabotage both on the border and on the line of contact.

On July 12, Armenian forces shelled Azerbaijan's positions in Tovuz, Azerbaijan's strategically-important district. The attack killed 12 Azerbaijani servicemen, including an army general, as well as a 76-year-old civilian. Armenian forces retreated after suffering losses in Azerbaijan's retaliation. 

Since 16 July, eight UAVs of the Armenian armed forces, attempting to carry out a reconnaissance flight over the positions of the Azerbaijani Army's units, have been destroyed by the Azerbaijani Air Defense units.

Another provocation was staged on August 23 at around 6:00 am when Azerbaijan thwarted a provocation attempt by the sabotage-reconnaissance group of the Armenian armed forces in the direction of Goranboy region of Azerbaijan. As a result of measures taken by the Azerbaijani army, the commander of the sabotage-reconnaissance group of the Armenian Armed Forces, senior lieutenant Gurgen Alaverdyan was taken as prisoner.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

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Akbar Mammadov  is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

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