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As tensions with Yerevan escalate, defence ministry says Armenian firing factors, fight belongings and army amenities are the targets.
Azerbaijan has launched what it known as “anti-terrorist actions” within the breakaway area of Nagorno-Karabakh, its defence ministry stated, stressing that the offensive would solely goal army buildings.
“Native anti-terrorist actions carried out by the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan within the Karabakh area of Azerbaijan are ongoing,” learn a Ministry of Protection assertion printed on Tuesday.
“As a part of the actions, solely reputable army installations and infrastructure are focused and incapacitated utilizing high-precision weapons,” it added.
A reporter of the AFP information company stated explosions had been heard within the area’s de facto capital, referred to as Stepanakert to Armenians and Khankendi in Azerbaijani.
The assertion got here a couple of hours after the nation’s Ministry of International Affairs stated at the least six folks died in two completely different accidents within the Azeri Khojavend district allegedly on account of landmines put in by Armenia’s safety forces.
The area has lengthy been on the centre of tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia, main to 2 wars for its management. As of at present, the area is internationally recognised as a part of Azerbaijan however it’s largely populated by ethnic Armenians.
The final large-scale battle broke out in 2020 and lasted for six weeks earlier than a Russian-brokered truce. The ceasefire noticed Armenia cede swaths of territory it had managed because the Nineteen Nineties.
The 2 sides have since been unable to succeed in a long-lasting peace settlement regardless of mediation efforts by the European Union, Russia and the US.
Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of inflicting a months-long humanitarian disaster in Nagorno-Karabakh after Baku final 12 months blocked the only real highway linking the mountainous area with Armenia. It’s known as the Lachin hall, and Russian peacekeepers police it.
On Monday, vehicles loaded with humanitarian assist entered Nagorno-Karabakh after Armenian separatists and the central authorities agreed to make use of roads linking it to Armenia and Azerbaijan, based on Baku.