Azerbaijan condemns Armenian missile attack on Euronews reporters

By Vafa Ismayilova

Presidential aide Hikmat Hajiyev has said that Azerbaijan strongly condemns the Armenian firing of Euronews TV channel’s reporters who carried out their professional journalistic activities in liberated territories, Trend reported.

Armenia’s armed forces fired on the reporters from the Cornet type anti-tank missile while filming in Azerbaijan’s liberated Talish and Sugovushan villages, Hajiyev said.

"We regard this attack by Armenia as aggression against the freedom of speech and professional journalism. Fortunately, the reporters weren’t injured in the attack, and only the vehicle used by them was damaged," Hajiyev noted.

He pointed out that a car with the Euronews logo was attacked by an anti-tank guided missile.

Earlier, some Azerbaijani journalists were wounded and cars of filming crews were damaged by the Armenian fire attacks.

The presidential aide noted that representatives of the international media outlets presenting video footages depicting military operations carried out by Azerbaijan later face verbal and physical attacks, blackmail and threats from the Armenian lobby.

"In some cases, professional journalists are dismissed under pressure from the lobby. A vivid example is the Armenian lobby’s attacks in France on French TV channel TF1’s reporters because of their videos from Azerbaijan. Currently, more than 70 representatives of international media outlets work in Azerbaijan. In accordance with the operational situation, necessary conditions are created for them to prepare reports from the front and carry out their professional activities," Hajiyev said.

On his official Twitter account on 26 October, the presidential aide reported large-scale military attacks on Azerbaijani army positions on the frontline.

“Armenian armed forces are shelling Tartar city with artillery and missiles in gross breach of humanitarian ceasefire. Since 0800 a.m. up to now more than 200 artillery projectiles were fired to Azerbaijani cities. Armenia’s consent to humanitarian ceasefire just hypocrisy,” Hajiyev said.

In a different tweet on 26 October, Hajiyed reported heavy artillery shelling of Azerbaijan’s Agjabadi, Tartar, Aghdam districts by Armenian troops.

“From 0800 a.m. until 13.00 more than 100 artillery projectiles were fired to Agjabadi, Tartar, Aghdam regions of Azerbaijan. Indiscriminately civilians targeted. It is how Armenia fulfils its commitments with regards to humanitarian ceasefire. Luckily no casualties among civilians,” he said.

However, Hajiyev said that Azerbaijan was ready to extend all humanitarian support to Armenian civilians.

“We are ready to extend all the necessary humanitarian support, based on humanism principles and the Geneva conventions, to the civilian poulation and the Armenian servicemen willing to cross into the territories under the control of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan,” he said.

Meanwhile, Hajiyev said that Armenia does not want to take the bodies of its deceased soldiers to hide military losses. 

“We declared that [Azerbaijan is] unilaterally ready to return bodies of Armenian soldiers via ICRC. Since October 18 our appeal remains unanswered by Armenia. By this ignorance Armenia tries to hide its real military losses by Armenian people," he wrote on Twitter.