NON-COMBAT LOSSES; … ARE SUBSTANTIAL
R. Orujev

Source: Ekho (Baku), December 1, 2006, EV
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
December 6, 2006 Wednesday

SITUATION IN THE AREAS WHERE AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN TROOPS FACE
EACH OTHER REMAINS TRICKY; Update on the situation in the areas where
Azerbaijani and Armenian regular armies face each other.

Another episode of the cease-fire regime violation is reported.

Azerbaijani positions came under automatic rifle fire from the
territory of the settlement of Bash Gervend in the Agdam district
occupied by the Armenians. It began at approximately 2315 hours on
November 29. No information on casualties is available.

It is common knowledge that violations of this kind occur regularly,
at least once a week.

Ramiz Melikov of the Press Service of the Defense Ministry told Ekho
that the Armenians kept violating the cease-fire regime. "I do not
see any improvement from past years," Melikov said.

According to Melikov, the Defense Ministry is not counting loss of
life in provocations engineered by the Armenians. "We do not reveal
this information," he said. "As for the losses, they are quite frequent
on both sides."

"Some tranquility in areas in question always follows the coming of
cold," independent military expert Uzeir Jafarov told this newspaper.

"By late December, however, we will probably see mass violations of
the cease-fire regime. It happens every year. Generally speaking,
the situation there is not any better than it was these last 3-5 years.

Skirmishes continue all along the front. They are sometimes mass,
sometimes episodic… They usually happen when replacement of the
troops is carried out. Young soldiers right from boot camp want to
see how their weapons work. With commanders’ permission of course. It
is usually true of sharpshooters. I’m under the impression that the
Armenian side will try to escalate tension now that the latest round
of the Karabakh talks is over. The cease-fire regime will be frequently
violated now."

"Our Organization of Retired Officers monitor the state of affairs
with Azerbaijani losses when the cease-fire regime is in effect,"
Jafarov said. "We draw our conclusions from what is published in
the media and what our comrades-in-arms tell us. The Armed Forces
of Azerbaijan lost 50 servicemen this year. Discounting the wounded
and those who triggered landmines. Most men were lost to Armenian
sharpshooters. The 2005 figures were more or less similar. We’ve been
compiling this information since 1994. The Defense Ministry classified
these figures, but I’m telling you right here and now that we lost
several thousands men. They are the so-called non-combat losses."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress