Azernews.Az

By Vugar Khalilov

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry held another briefing on September 14 to inform the military attachés in the country about the recent developments on the state border with Armenia, Azernews reports, citing the ministry.

The meeting was organized at the ministry’s International Military Cooperation Department.

Maj-Gen Huseyn Mahmudov, Chief of the International Military Cooperation Department under the Defense Ministry, briefed the foreign representatives on the current situation in the wake of the Armenian armed forces' large-scale provocation in the Dashkasan, Kalbajar, Lachin, and Zangilan directions.

The official underlined that Armenia used various caliber weapons and artillery pieces to target units of the Azerbaijani army and civil infrastructure. Following the Azerbaijani army's retaliatory actions, the large-scale provocation was decisively crushed.

Mahmudov emphasized that Azerbaijan is committed to its obligations under the trilateral statement, signed on November 10, 2020, by the Azerbaijani, Russian, and Armenian leaders, adding that the Armenian military-political leadership bears full responsibility for the tension, confrontation, and losses caused by the large-scale provocation.

To recap, units of the Armenian armed forces carried out large-scale provocations along the Azerbaijani-Armenian state border in the Dashkasan, Kalbajar, and Lachin directions during the night of September 13. At night, Armenian sabotage groups mined land and supply roads linking the positions of the Azerbaijani army units in different directions, taking advantage of the area's steep topography and existing ravine gaps.

The clashes between the sides ensued as a result of the urgent efforts made by the Azerbaijani armed forces to quell these activities. As a result, 50 armed forces personnel, including 42 Azerbaijan Army servicemen and 8 State Border Service personnel were killed, the ministry detailed.

The Azerbaijan military units stationed in these areas took decisive retaliatory measures to suppress the provocations of the Armenian armed forces and military threats to Azerbaijan's territory and sovereignty, as well as to ensure the safety of military personnel, including civilian workers involved in infrastructure construction in Kalbajar and Lachin districts, the ministry emphasized.

As of September 14, the Armenian government reported 105 losses among military personnel.

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