Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Defying all calls of international organizations to abide by the ceasefire regime, the Armenian armed forces continue to escalate situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani contact line targeting Azerbaijani servicemen.

Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry reported that the Armenian side, violating the ceasefire on September 27, shot dead the lieutenant of Azerbaijani armed forces, Allahverdi Bakhishli.

The 23-year-old serviceman was buried in Azerbaijan's Hajigabul region.

This was the second loss of the Azerbaijani Army during the last week. On September 23, the Armenian armed forces shot dead the 19-year old soldier of the Azerbaijani Army, Keramet Shabiyev.

Armenian armed forces have aggravated tensions along the frontline by attacking the Azerbaijani positions since early 2014.

Despite the ongoing peace talks on resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Armenian armed forces continue to escalate the tension on the contact line.

For over two decades, Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict which emerged over Armenia's territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor.

Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since 1994, but long-standing efforts by U.S, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on its pullout from the neighboring country's territories.