Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The Armenian armed forces fired at civilians who were on their way to a funeral near the contact line between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops in the Aghdam region, local media reported quoting the residents of the Mirashelli village.

The fact was confirmed by Habil Abbasov, the chairman of the municipality Ahmadagali, in which the settlement is located.

Abbasov said the enemy troops shelled civilians who were participating in the funeral.

Abbasov noted that the cemetery is fully visible from the enemy side. There are no victims. The residents participating in the funeral had to take shelter for a while.

This time the villagers' visit of friends and relatives buried in that cemetery on the eve of Novruz holidays passed without incident. However, each year the life of the residents who visit the cemetery on the eve of Novruz as part of a tradition is under the threat of the fire.

Because the cemetery is located 200-250 meters away from the front line, it has also been shelled in the past, resulting in deaths and injuries.

Earlier, a resident of the village near the frontline in the Tovuz region was wounded as a result of the Armenian armed forces' shelling of the villages located near the contact line.

Armenian armed forces have also killed four servicemen of the Azerbaijani Army by a sniper since January, disrespecting the ceasefire agreement between the two sides.

The situation has remained tense on the contact line since mid-January, and the Armenian Armed Forces have violated the ceasefire repeatedly.

Earlier, Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported that most ceasefire violations are observed in Fizuli, Agdam, Terter, Goranboy, Khojavend, and Jabrayil districts. The ceasefire has been violated over 3,000 times since January 2014. In all the cases, the enemy's shooting was answered by retaliatory fire.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war.

Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994, but Armenia has continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.

Peace talks mediated by Russia, France, and the US have produced no results so far.