AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIA ACCUSE EACH OTHER OF VIOLATING CEASEFIRE
RIA Novosti, Russia
June 11 2004
BAKU/YEREVAN, June 11 (RIA Novosti) – Azerbaijan and Armenia have
accused each other of violating the ceasefire.
The press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported that
on Wednesday night Armenian military units, deployed in the Berd
district of Armenia, fired small arms at the Azerbaijani army in Koha
Nabi, a village in the Tovuz district.
Also, Azerbaijani positions were shelled from the Armenian positions,
1 kilometer northeast of the village of Kuropatkino in the
Khodzhavend district of Azerbaijan in lower Karabakh.
The press service asserted that the fire from the Armenian positions
was neutralized through return fire and that no Azerbaijanis died.
On June 6 and 7, Armenian soldiers fired sub-machineguns and
machineguns twice at the Azerbaijani army’s positions in the Gazakh
district of Azerbaijan (western Azerbaijan), 200 kilometers away from
Karabakh and the border with Armenia.
The press secretary of Armenian Defense Minister, Seiran
Shahsuvaryan, said that on Thursday at 7:50 p.m., Moscow time,
Azerbaijani military units shelled the village of Movses in the
Tavush region of Armenia.
“The Armenian side did not return fire,” Mr. Shahsuvaryan said.
No Armenians were killed.
According to Mr. Shahsuvaryan, on Wednesday night, Azerbaijani
soldiers shelled the positions of the Nagorny Karabakh defense army
near the village of Kuropatkino.
“The Karabakh soldiers were forced to return fire and neutralize the
fire from the Azerbaijani side,” Mr. Shahsuvaryan said. No one was
killed on the Karabakh side.
Mr. Shahsuvaryan also said that on June 7, Azerbaijani troops fired
large-caliber weapons at the village of Berkaber in the Tavush region
of Armenia.
The OSCE representatives on Thursday monitored the observance of the
ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the village of
Garakhanbeili in the Fizuli district of Azerbaijan. According to the
EU, there were no violations in that area.