Armenian arsons persist in occupied Azerbaijani territories
By Sara Rajabova
Armenian armed forces continue setting fire to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. This time, major arsons have been committed in the area of Aghdam. Since May 10, Armenian soldiers have been shooting at the villages of Orta Gishlag and Chyragly from the territory of the Bash Garvand village.
After the shooting, they perpetrated arsons in the occupied village of Shikhlar, located at the contact line between the Armenian and Azerbaijani troops, EL TV reported.
According to local residents, explosions were also heard in the territories that had been set ablaze. Presumably, the explosions occurred because of the heating of landmines planted there in the past.
The Armenians regularly start large fires in the occupied Azerbaijani territories in summer and spring. The arsons have caused massive loss of natural resources, flora and fauna.
The fires also badly affect the agriculture of the villages located in the frontline areas, as the Armenians deliberately set fire to the territories in the spring and summer months when crops are cultivated and harvested.
Moreover, residents of the frontline villages say that during the fires the attacks of reptiles, rodents and wild animals, especially, jackals, considerably increase.
The persistent fires in the occupied territories and in the protected areas along Araz River are destroying the entire plant cover in these areas and have bitter ramifications for the environment.
To date, the territories of Agdam, Fizuli, Jabrayil, Terter and Khojavand regions, which are situated on the troops' contact line, have been set ablaze deliberately by the Armenian invaders. The fire flames encircled thousands of hectares of land controlled by the Armenians, as well as spread over other territories and considerably damaged the nature there. A total of 96,000 ha of pastures, hayfields and greeneries as well as forest fields were destroyed and the fertile soil surface became useless due to the perpetration of arsons by the Armenian soldiers in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
Despite all the vandalistic acts by the Armenian invaders against the nature and environment of Azerbaijan, these actions have yet to spark due reaction from the international community.
Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that had caused a lengthy war in the early 1990s.
The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenia's withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.