Azernews.Az

A group of local and foreign journalists have visited Azerbaijani residential settlements shelled by the Armenian troops along the frontline.

The journalists, accompanied by Spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Hikmat Hajiyev first visited Barda Diagnostics Center in Barda region and met with the civilians, who were wounded by the Armenians in the recent fighting.

The journalists also reviewed the houses, which were damaged as a result of shelling by the Armenian armed forces.

Later, the journalists have arrived in Sarijali village, Aghdam. They viewed Sarijali local school which was damaged as a result of the Armenian shelling, Azertac reports.

School principal Aybeniz Maharramova said the school was damaged after the Armenian armed units shelled it on April 2.

She said none of the teachers and pupils was wounded as shells fell on the school in the afternoon on Saturday. The school is now being repaired.

The journalists then viewed a destroyed house in Mahrizli village.

“We did not expect the Armenian army to shell civilians from heavy weapons,” resident of Chamanli village in Aghdam Ahmad Ahmadov has told the journalists who visited the district.

Ahmadov said his close relatives, Chamanli residents Ali Huseynov and Famil Mustafayev were killed as Armenian units shelled the residential areas.

“Armenians started to shell our village with heavy artillery at midnight. Both Ali Huseynov and Famil Mustafayev received severe wounds and died as a result of the shelling. None of them left the village. Our patience is running out. How long can we live like this?! How can one call it a ceasefire? We are waiting for an order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief to free our lands from occupation.”

The journalists then met with the wounded people at Aghdam District Central Hospital. They were informed that three residents were receiving treatment here. Other wounded residents are under ambulatory care.

Wounded resident Shebnem Garashova said the village was shelled suddenly. “We did not had an opportunity to go to a safe place as the shelling started suddenly. We tried to flee by car but they hit it. The explosion of the shell threw me into a channel, and I was wounded in my leg.”

Another Chamanli resident Arif Mammadov, who was also wounded in his leg, said: “We were subjected to shelling before, but it has never been this intense and heavy.”

Local resident Shahmalı Qahramanov said that around 100 shells fell in the village on the night of April 27-28. Twenty-nine houses were damaged, while three houses were completely destroyed in the village. Some 57 houses were damaged from April 1-5. He said local residents were unable to run their farms because of the constant shelling.

The situation on the contact line of Armenian and Azerbaijani troops has again aggravated on April 24 despite the ceasefire agreement that was reached with the mediation of Russia on April 5.

The long-lasting Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict remains unresolved due to the continuation of Armenia’s occupant policy. Yerevan has not yet implemented the UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

The OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, proceeding talks based on the renewed Madrid principles. However, the statements promising a sincere contribution to the peaceful resolution of the conflict have become frequent, but declarative in essence.

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