OSCE monitoring marred by ceasefire violation
Armenian armed forces violated the ceasefire on the
contact line with Azerbaijan during a regular OSCE monitoring in
the Fizuli district on Thursday.
According to the Azerbaijan Defense Ministry, shooting broke out when the European security body`s representatives, who were positioned on both sides of the frontline, contacted each other by walkie-talkies as they were beginning the monitoring. The Armenian troops first fired two separate shots from a sub-machine gun, followed by continuous shooting.
Eldar Sabiroghlu, the spokesman for the ministry, said the shots had targeted the international monitoring group that was working on the Azerbaijani side of the contact line. Its representatives also witnessed the fire being directed toward them, he said.Andrjej Caspzyk, the OSCE chairman`s special envoy, ordered a halt to the monitoring immediately after the incident. He also instructed the members of the group who were on the Armenian side to investigate the incident.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus republics reared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia`s territorial claims. Armenia has been occupying over 20% of Azerbaijan`s internationally recognized territory since the early 1990s in defiance of international law. The ceasefire accord was signed in May 1994, but over a decade of efforts by US, Russian and French mediators have been fruitless so far and Armenia frequently violates the ceasefire agreement. However, the OSCE has rarely voiced concern over such incidents and concludes, after holding monitoring sessions on the frontline every month, that the situation there remains generally tranquil. Nonetheless, the latest shooting incident represents another example of Armenian aggressiveness witnessed by international observers.
According to the Azerbaijan Defense Ministry, shooting broke out when the European security body`s representatives, who were positioned on both sides of the frontline, contacted each other by walkie-talkies as they were beginning the monitoring. The Armenian troops first fired two separate shots from a sub-machine gun, followed by continuous shooting.
Eldar Sabiroghlu, the spokesman for the ministry, said the shots had targeted the international monitoring group that was working on the Azerbaijani side of the contact line. Its representatives also witnessed the fire being directed toward them, he said.Andrjej Caspzyk, the OSCE chairman`s special envoy, ordered a halt to the monitoring immediately after the incident. He also instructed the members of the group who were on the Armenian side to investigate the incident.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus republics reared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia`s territorial claims. Armenia has been occupying over 20% of Azerbaijan`s internationally recognized territory since the early 1990s in defiance of international law. The ceasefire accord was signed in May 1994, but over a decade of efforts by US, Russian and French mediators have been fruitless so far and Armenia frequently violates the ceasefire agreement. However, the OSCE has rarely voiced concern over such incidents and concludes, after holding monitoring sessions on the frontline every month, that the situation there remains generally tranquil. Nonetheless, the latest shooting incident represents another example of Armenian aggressiveness witnessed by international observers.
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