Azerbaijani army liberates heights in Nakhchivan, controls road to Lachin: minister
By Rashid Shirinov
The Azerbaijani Army held a successful operation in Nakhchivan to liberate 11,000 hectares of land from Armenian occupation, Azerbaijani Defense Minister, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov said at a press conference on June 20.
He noted that the operation in Nakhchivan was very successful. “Now the Azerbaijani Army also controls the road leading to Lachin. This is another our success,” Hasanov said.
The minister stressed that the goal is to prepare the army for real combat. “Today, the Azerbaijani Army is able to liberate the occupied territories,” he noted.
As a result of successful actions, the village of Gunnut in Sharur region and strategic heights of Khunut (2,065 meters), Gizilgaya (1,683 meters) and Mehridag (1,869 meters), located around the village, came under the control of Azerbaijani units.
Hasanov also observed the training involving the cadets of the Higher Military School named after Heydar Aliyev. The minister visited a shooting range in a center for training of snipers, where he observed the organization and practical execution of shooting. Hasanov also watched the training of motorized rifle, tank and artillery units.
Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan by laying territorial claims on the country. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.
To this day, Armenia has not implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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