Azernews.Az

BAKU – A statement condemning the killing of an Azerbaijani child by Armenian troops on the frontline was signed on Thursday by 20 representatives of the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly at its spring session.

Nine-year-old Fariz Badalov, resident of a village of the frontline Aghdam region, was shot in the head by a sniper while playing in the courtyard on March 8. Baku strongly condemned the killing, accusing Yerevan of attempting to derail peace talks.

"Killing of a child runs counter to the norms and principles of international law and is a tragedy of mankind," says the statement, drafted by Ganira Pashayeva, a member of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE. "This crime has exacerbated the tension in the region."

Azerbaijan and Armenia waged a brutal war which claimed some 30,000 lives and displaced about a million Azerbaijanis. About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory has been under the occupation of the Armenian armed forces since a fragile ceasefire was signed in 1994. OSCE-brokered peace talks have been largely fruitless so far.

The PACE’s statement said that Armenia’s armed forces frequently violate ceasefire and target civilians from their positions in the occupied Azerbaijani regions, which runs counter to international law, Armenia’s commitments to the Council of Europe, PACE’s relevant resolution, and is a blow to the negotiations mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group.

The PACE members said the assembly strongly condemns the killing of Fariz Badalov and calls on Yerevan to bring those who committed this crime to justice. The PACE demanded that Armenia stop the targeting of civilians by snipers and violations of ceasefire, fulfill its Council of Europe commitments and PACE resolution 1416, withdraw its forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and allow Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs to return to their homes.

Members of the Azerbaijani delegation met with Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg and informed him about the details pertaining to the Azerbaijani child’s killing. They asked the commissioner to keep the issue in focus and work to bring to book those responsible for the crime.