Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Armenian armed forces have been escalating the tense situation along the contact line of Armenian and Azerbaijani troops for several consecutive days.

Two Azerbaijani soldiers were injured as a result of ceasefire violations by the Armenian armed forces on July 3-4, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said.

Soldier Nurlan Hasanov, born in 1995 and dispatched from Barda region was wounded by Armenian armed forces. He was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Ensign Anar Naghiyev born in 1989 and dispatched from Gazakh region was also injured due to the shelling of Azerbaijani posts by the Armenian troops. He is now in a critical condition.

Following the ceasefire violations, the Armenian side was silenced with the return fire by Azerbaijani forces.

The ceasefire violations by Armenian troops have recently intensified on the frontline.

Just a day earlier, the Armenian armed forces wounded an Azerbaijani serviceman.

The Armenian troops broke the ceasefire on the contact line of Armenian and Azerbaijani troops 37 times on July 3 and 4.

The Armenian Armed Forces opened fire at the Azerbaijani positions located in the village of Gizilhajili of Gazakh region from the positions located in the Berkaber village of Armenia`s Ijevan region.

The positions of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces located in the Aghdam village and the nameless heights of Tovuz region also took fire from the Armenian positions located in the Mosesgeh and Chinari villages of the Berd region.

The Armenian side opened fire at the Azerbaijani positions in the Kemerli village of Gazakh region from the positions located in the Doveh village of the Noyemberyan region.

The Azerbaijani Armed Forces also took fire at positions located at the nameless heights of Jabrail and Goygol regions and near the Merzili, Yusifjanli, Shuraabad, Nerminli, Bash Gervend of Aghdam region, Ashagi Veyselli, Ashagi Seyidahmedli of Fizuli region, Qizil Oba village of Terter region, Kuropatkino of Khojavend, Tapgaragoyunlu of Goranboy region. The opposing side was silenced with return fire.

The Armenian armed forces have intensified ceasefire violations on the contact line between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops since the beginning of 2014. As a result of ceasefire breaches, several Azerbaijani soldiers were shot dead.

Two servicemen of the Azerbaijani army were killed and another four were wounded in late May. The Armenian armed forces further escalated the situation on the frontline by killing two servicemen and wounding one lieutenant of the Azerbaijani army in June.

The Armenian armed forces didn't hesitate to fire at the civilians, who live in the villages located near the frontline.

Five civilians were wounded as a result of Armenian armed forces' shelling of the houses and fields in the border villages at the end of June.

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 of its forces.

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