Azerbaijanis seeking to join military units to fight against Armenia
By Sara Rajabova
Following the recent escalation of border tensions by Armenian forces, many Azerbaijanis have appealed to the Defense Ministry to let them defend their country as volunteers against the enemy's invasion.
Deputy Head of the Military-Psychological Training and Public Relations Department under the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, Colonel Abdulla Gurbani told Trend news agency on August 4 that dozens of young and elderly people have already expressed their readiness to join the military units and fight as volunteers.
He said that meetings with the families of the dead servicemen are being held in some cities and regions of Azerbaijan. Some medals are awarded during these meetings.
"During these meetings, dozens of young people, people of middle and old ages come with a request to join the ranks of the military units, expressing their willingness to voluntarily participate in the battles for the liberation of the occupied lands," Gurbani said.
The reconnaissance and sabotage groups of Armenia attacked the positions of Azerbaijani armed forces during the recent days.
Over the last five days, Azerbaijani positions have come under attack constantly. At least 13 servicemen have been killed and several others wounded. Despite what is said by Armenian sources, they suffered more losses.
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.
Peace talks mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. have produced no results so far.
The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions calling for Armenia's withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.