Azernews.Az

By Vugar Khalilov

The Armenian armed forces have renewed shelling of Azerbaijani military positions in Dashkasan and Kalbajar districts near the state border, damaging military equipment as a result, Azernews reports, citing the Defense Ministry.

Starting from 1630 to 1735 hours on October 20, units of the Armenian armed forces, using various caliber arms, periodically subjected to fire the Azerbaijani army positions stationed in Dashkasan District’s Astaf, as well as Kalbajar’s Zaylik settlements from their positions in Basarkechar (Gegharkunik) region’s Gunashli and Yukhari Shorja (Verin Shorzha) settlements, the ministry said.

Units of the Azerbaijani army took appropriate retaliatory measures to suppress the opposite side, the report added.

Earlier, on the same day, the ministry dismissed the Armenian Defense Ministry’s allegations of ceasefire breach by the Azerbaijani army units as wide of the mark.

“The information spread by the Armenian Defense Ministry that the units of the Azerbaijani Army allegedly opened fire in the direction of the opposing side's positions on October 20 around 1630 is groundless and completely false. We categorically deny the information,” the ministry stressed.

In the same vein, the Armenian military units intermittently subjected to fire the Azerbaijani military positions in Daskasan’s Astaf, as well as Kalbajar’s Zaylik and Mollabayramli settlements from their positions in Basarkechar's Gunashli and Yukhari Shorja settlements on the night of October 20, the ministry said in a separate report.

Furthermore, units of the Armenian army opened fire on a military vehicle (KamAZ) transporting supplies to Azerbaijani troops in Kalbajar’s Zaylik village. Although the equipment was damaged, there were no casualties among the personnel, the ministry underlined.

The previous similar incidents were registered on October 19-20, when units of the Armenian armed forces opened fire on Azerbaijani positions in the same direction.

Armenia shells Azerbaijani military positions along the state border on a regular basis. Since early September, Azerbaijani positions have been repeatedly targeted by the Armenian forces.

The biggest border clashes between the sides since the 44-day war (2020) started during the night of September 12 to 13, when the Armenian armed forces carried out large-scale provocations along the Azerbaijani-Armenian state border in Dashkasan, Kalbajar, and Lachin directions.

Following the October 6 meeting in Prague between the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders under the auspices of EU Council President Charles Michel and French President Emmanuel Macron, all sides reiterated their commitment to peace talks while recognizing each other's territorial integrity.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz