AZERI TROOPS REPEL ARMENIAN ATTACK, FIVE KILLED REPORTS
AssA-Irada
September 10, 2009 Thursday
Azerbaijan
Armenian armed forces reportedly attacked Azerbaijani troops on
Thursday morning, violating ceasefire near Azerbaijans occupied
Aghdam district. The Azerbaijani servicemen repelled the offensive,
killing five Armenian servicemen and wounding three others, local
TV channels reported. A 19-year-old Azerbaijani soldier was injured
in the skirmish. He has been hospitalized and his condition is
satisfactory. Azerbaijans Defense Ministry has neither confirmed
nor refuted the reports. The conflict between the two South Caucasus
republics reared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia’s territorial
claims. Armenia has been occupying over 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s
internationally-recognized territory since the early 1990s in defiance
of international law. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994, but
over a decade of efforts by US, Russian and French mediators have been
fruitless so far, and Armenia frequently violates ceasefire. Turkey has
commented on the Armenian ceasefire breach on the frontline. Anatolian
news agency quoted Burak Ozugergin, the spokesman for the countrys
Foreign Ministry, as saying that Ankara will be utterly concerned
if the mentioned reports are confirmed. We are concerned over
such incidents occurring at a time we are endeavoring to foster an
environment of peace and stability in the Caucasus, said Ozugergin.