Azernews.Az

By Ayya Lmahamad

Afghanistan has reiterated support for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity amid ongoing clashes near Azerbaijan’s occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region during the phone conversation between Afghan Foreign Minister Haneef Atmar and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov on October 5.

During the conversation, Bayramov briefed his counterpart on the latest tensions in the region, namely, Armenia's deliberate shelling the Azerbaijani civilians and civilian objects. He underlined casualties among the civilian population and destruction of civilian infrastructures as a result of the purposeful targeting by Armenian armed forces the Azerbaijani cities located far from the frontline.

Additionally, he stressed that norms and principles of international law must be followed and UN Security Council resolutions must be followed to ensure peace and security in the region.

Bayramov thanked Afghanistan for the recent statements of the National Council of Afghanistan in support of Azerbaijan’s the sovereignty and territorial integrity.

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.

On October 4, Armenia launched missile attack on Ganja, Azerbaijan's second largest populated city, killing one civilian and injuring dozens. There were also attacks on Mingachevir city that has a hydroelectric power station as well as on Khizi and Abheron region on the same day.

Twenty seven civilians have been killed and 141 others have been injured since the outbreak of large-scale hostilities on September 27, after Armenia launched another attack along the line of contact. Among the civilians are three children. As a result of the shelling of civilian infrastructure facilities by the occupying country's armed forces, 376 houses, as well as 63 civilian facilities were severely damaged.

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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