Azernews.Az

By Rashid Shirinov

Despite the ceasefire agreement of April 5 achieved after bloody clashes between the Azerbaijani and Armenian armies on April 2 to 5, 2016, Armenian troops continues shelling on the frontline area, mostly targeting civilians.

Ali Hasanov, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the State Committee for refugees and IDPs (Internally displaced persons), visited Agdam and Fizuli districts to view the damage committed by Armenia to Azerbaijani civilians.

First, he attended the town in Bala Bakhmanli village of Fizuli district, newly built for IDPs to review the construction process, APA reported.

Hasanov also visited Agdam district to view the houses damaged through Armenian shelling in April. Here he met with residents of the Baharli IDPs camp and visited local schools.

“As many as 450 houses of IDPs were damaged as a result of Armenian shelling. In particular, 50 houses in Tartar district were completely destroyed," he said, saying 17 victims of Armenian attacks were internally displaced persons.

The government has launched restoration of the destroyed houses, Hasanov stressed.

Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign State with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years.

Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region.