Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The ceasefire violations continue to claim the life of innocent people as Armenia keeps the Azerbaijani territories under occupation for more the 20 years.

An Azerbaijani soldier was shot dead by an Armenian sniper on the frontline as a result of the ceasefire violation by the Armenian armed forces near the occupied village Chayli of Tartar region on December 27.

Nineteen-year-old Soldier Gasimov Sarhan died because of enemy sniper fire, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported.

For bravery and courageous devotion to duty, soldier Gasimov was posthumously awarded with the medal "For Distinguished Service in the military service," of the third degree by the order of Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov.

The Defense Ministry expressed its deepest condolences to the parents and relatives of the soldier. The ministry's high-ranking representatives will attend the funeral ceremony which will be held on December 28.

The OSCE co-chairs, Igor Popov of Russia, Jacques Faure of France, and James Warlick of the U.S. last week inspected ceasefire violations on the contact line between Azerbaijani and Armenian armed forces.

In a statement issued following their visit, they called on sides to refrain from further actions that could increase tensions, and to work to maintain an atmosphere conducive to progress at the negotiating table.

However, Armenia still continues its policy of occupation with breaching the ceasefire regime after a week of co-chairs' visit to the region.

Armenia neglects all calls of the international organizations, states and their resolutions urging it stop aggressive policy and to withdraw from Azerbaijani territories.

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 caused a brutal war in the early 1990s. Long-standing efforts by US, Russian and French mediators have been largely unsuccessful so far.

The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.

As a result of the military aggression, over 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, 4,866 are reported missing and almost 100,000 were injured, and 50,000 were disabled.