With renewing escalation in the Nagorno-Karabakh area and raising hands against the civilian population of Azerbaijan living along the frontline, Armenian militaries have once again showed their unwillingness to peace.
Daily frontline skirmishes have always posed big challenges to Azerbaijan’s civilian population living along the frontline. The intense firing of the Azerbaijani positions and settlements along the frontline since April 2, have caused causalities among Azerbaijani civilians.
Over the past four days, the Armenian armed forces have subjected a number of settlements of Azerbaijan’s Terter, Aghdam and Fuzuli regions to the intense firing from heavy weapons.
On the first day of the hostilities, two civilians were killed, while 10 other were wounded by Armenian militaries. More than 10 houses as well as local people’s property were also damaged during the first day of the fighting.
The enemy forces also fired the Sarijali school #1 in Azerbaijan’s Aghdam region on April 2. No casualties were reported, however, the school’s building was seriously damaged. One of the shells also hit a school in the village of Ayag Gervend.
On April 4, 62-years-old Garash Dadashev was killed while being in mosque in Aghdam. Moreover, Akif Mustafayev, Pakiza Maharramli (Aghdam residents), Ulviyya Aliyeva and Kamala Aghayeva (Terter region) were wounded by Armenian armed forces.
The Seydimli village of Azerbaijan’s Terter region was subjected to the artillery fire by Armenian armed forces on April 4. One of the shells hit the courtyard of villager Sahib Veliyev, injuring the house owner and his 13-year-old grandson.
Armenians' recent shelling of Tartar region has damaged 160 houses. Many of the damaged houses became completely unusable. A shell burst in the Hasangaya village, killing civilian Turana Hasanli, 16, and wounding Mehpara Aliyeva.
Several journalists have made photo reportage as they visited the front line in Garadaghli, Gapanli, Duyarli villages in the Tartar region. The reporters took photos of the ruins after the area was shelled by the Armenians. Photos provide a description of the Armenians` provocation, their targeting civilians and houses.
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.
Over the entire period of its existence, the OSCE Minsk Group, which acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, failed to move forward in resolving the long lasting conflict, although the interested parties had pinned great hopes on it.
The situation on the frontline aggravated on April 2 after the Armenian military units in the occupied lands started shelling Azerbaijan’s positions.
To protect civilian population, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces launched counter attacks and as a result, the Azerbaijani troops retook hills around the village of Talish, as well as Seysulan settlement, and also took over Lele Tepe hill located in the direction of Fizuli region.
The hostilities renewed in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan on April 4, as the Armenian side continued to shell the Azerbaijani positions although the Azerbaijani side announced unilateral ceasefire on April 3.