On the morning of February 13, four Armenian soldiers were killed and one was wounded by Azerbaijani gunfire in the southern Syunik Province, Armenia's defense ministry reported.
The news came a day after Azerbaijan claimed one of its soldiers was wounded by Armenian fire.
On February 12, the Azerbaijani foreign ministry released a statement saying that a serviceman of the country's State Border Service was wounded "as a result of another military provocation" by Armenia.
"This provocation of Armenia is a serious blow to the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia," the English version of the statement read. "In light of the stable situation of the last 4-5 months, such belligerent acts blatantly contradict with peace messages by Armenia. Moreover, such a provocation that was undertaken exactly in the territories observed by the European Union Mission in Armenia raises serious concerns about the aims and purposes of this Mission."
Government-linked news agency Caliber.az released what it called footage of the attack.
In response, the Armenian defense ministry stated that the matter was "under investigation." "Preliminary findings indicate that no such situation occurred in this area on February 12," it said. "If this is confirmed, those responsible for violating the orders will be held accountable."
The next day Azerbaijani forces fired on the Armenian army post, near the border village of Nerkin Hand in Syunik Province. Four Armenian servicemen were killed, and one was wounded. He is reported to be in stable condition.
Armenia's foreign ministry said that these "aggressive actions … indicate that Azerbaijan is looking for pretexts for escalation on the border."
"These actions of use of force were preceded by bellicose statements by the military and political leadership of Azerbaijan, as well as information and propaganda preparatory activities in recent days," the statement read. "The leadership of Azerbaijan is constantly trying to disrupt the efforts of actors interested in stability and security in the South Caucasus to resume negotiations aimed at the normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations."
The Azerbaijani side denied the accusation, instead saying it "has eliminated the threat emanating from the Armenian military outpost following the military provocation that injured an Azerbaijani serviceman," adding that "this measure was purely a retaliatory one."
Azerbaijan's State Border Service named the attack "Operation Revenge," a moniker it has used for several past operations as well.
Since Azerbaijan seized the whole of the formerly Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh region in September, there have been fears in Armenia of an Azerbaijani invasion. Last month Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev revived his demand for an extraterritorial corridor through Armenian territory connecting mainland Azerbaijan with the Nakhchivan exclave. Just recently Baku seemed to have backed away from this demand, as an alternative route exists through Iran.
The U.S. embassy in Yerevan prohibited its employees and their families from "non-essential travels" to certain parts of the border, including Syunik, on February 2.
On February 12, before the attack on the Armenian post, Ambassador Peter Michalko of the European Union to Azerbaijan was summoned to the foreign ministry. The latter expressed its concern "with regard to the activities of the EU Monitoring Mission in Armenia (EUMA) that contradict initial agreements with respect to this mission and activities."
"It was noted that contrary to its declared purposes of contributing to stability in the region and confidence between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the mission is being widely exploited as an anti-Azerbaijani propaganda tool," the ministry's readout of the meeting said. "It was brought to the attention of the EU side that the Mission has essentially become an agent of 'binoculars diplomacy' facilitating the visits of different European officials and unofficial delegations to the border areas. All such visits, without exception, are used for disseminating anti-Azerbaijani hate and replicating unfounded Azerbaijan-phobia."
The Council of Europe is "concerned about reports of exchange of fire along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border"and "calls on both sides to abstain from the use of force," Secretary General Maria Pejcinovic Buric wrote on X.