2,156 houses, 90 apartment buildings destroyed in Armenin attacks on civilian infrastructure
By Ayya Lmahamad
Armenia continues shelling Azerbaijan’s densely populated areas using heavy artillery.
As a result of the shelling of civilian infrastructure facilities by the occupying country's armed forces, 2,156 houses and 90 multi-apartment residential buildings, as well as 398 civilian facilities were severely damaged since September 27 when Armenia launhced attacks on Azerbaijani military and civilians, the Prosecutor General’s Office has reported.
As of October 23, sixty-three civilians have been killed and 298 others have been injured since the outbreak of large-scale hostilities on September 27. Among the civilians are six children.
Vehicles belonging to civilians have beomce unserviceable, and numerous small and large horned animals and haystacks were destroyed as well.
Armenian armed forces launched a large-scale operation in the front-line zone on September 27 at 6 am, shelling the positions of the Azerbaijani army from large-calibre weapons, mortars, and artillery installations of various calibres. Armenia has been targeting Azerbaijan’s densely populated areas and infrastructure projects.
Armenia launched missile attacks on Azerbaijani cities and regions - Ganja, Mingachevir, Khizi, Absheron, Tartar, Gabala, Kurdamir, Siyazan, Goranboy, Aghdam among others.
The Azerbaijani Army responded with counteroffensive operations, liberating Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Zangilan cities, Hadrut town, dozens of villages in Khojavand, Jabrayil, Fuzuli and Zangilan regions from the Armenian occupation. On October 18, the army hoisted its flag of historic Khudaferin Bridge that links Azerbaijan with Iran.
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.
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France has been mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Group’s efforts have resulted in no progress and to this date, Armenia has failed to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) that demand the withdrawal of Armenian military forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad
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