KARABAKH DEFENSE FORCES TEST COMBAT READINESS

40926_3/27/2009_1
Published: Friday March 27, 2009

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–Nagorno-Karabakh’s army has held a fresh military
exercise aimed at testing and strengthening their combat readiness,
a military spokesman in Stepanakert said on Friday.

Lieutenant-Colonel Senor Hasratian told the Arminfo news agency that
the exercise was envisaged by an annual training plan of the Defense
Army of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR). "The NKR Defense Army
periodically holds such exercises," Hasratian said, calling the latest
drill a success.

The drills come as ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan have become
more frequent, prompting serious concern from foreign powers seeking
to broker a peaceful solution to the Karabakh conflict.

Azerbaijani media reports have said the exercise began in the Aghdam
district east of Karabakh earlier this week and involved heavy
artillery and other military hardware. According to them, heavy fire
could be heard and even seen in recent days from Azerbaijani-controlled
areas across the nearby line of contact separating Karabakh Armenian
and Azerbaijani forces.

Aydyn Mirzazade, a senior Azerbaijani lawmaker dealing with defense
and security, condemned the war-games on Thursday, saying that they
are aimed at intimidating the people of Azerbaijan. "Instead of
holding constructive negotiations and liberating Azerbaijani lands,
Armenia holds provocative military exercises," he told the Day.az news
service. "But the Azerbaijani army is ready to repel any aggression."

The Karabakh Defense Forces already practiced military operations
in the same area last October. That exercise was watched by Armenian
President Serzh Sarkisian and the top NKR leaders.