Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Armenian armed forces continue to commit arsons in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

In the latest violence, Armenian soldiers have set fire to Bash Gervend village of Azerbaijan's Aghdam region on the contact line of Armenian and Azerbaijani troops, local media reported.

In a short time, the fire spread to neutral territory and the explosions of mines were heard at the area.

Armenian armed forces frequently commit large-scale arsons in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, which leads to the flocking of various infestants and rodents from these areas to the lowland regions of the country.

Rodents, infestants and poisonous snakes, which flock to the lowland areas of the country escaping from the fires, enter the fields and private farms massively, destroying the cultivated fields and at the same time seriously threatening the lives of people.

The arsons have caused massive loss of natural resources, flora and fauna. The fires also adversely 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.

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 hectares 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.

Despite all the vandalistic acts by the Armenian invaders that damage the nature and environment of Azerbaijan, these actions have yet to spark due reaction from the international community.

Despite the regular monitoring by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) reveal no incident on the frontline.

The OSCE is expected to monitor the contact line of the Armenian and Azerbaijani armies on June 10, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said on June 9.

The monitoring will be held under the mandate of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Personal Representative, on the contact line located to the north from the Fizuli-Horadiz road of Azerbaijan's Fizuli region, the ministry said.

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 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 U.S. have produced no results so far.