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Azerbaijan announced today that 4 of its soldiers were killed in clashes with Armenian forces in the disputed Nagorno Karabakh region, despite the ceasefire in force since November, while Armenia also accused Baku of launching attacks.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in a statement that the Armenian armed groups refused to leave the forested areas in the northwestern district of Hadrut, in contradiction with the ceasefire agreement, and carried out “terrorist provocations”. Baku confirmed that in two separate incidents, on November 26 and December 8, 4 of its soldiers were killed and 3 injured.
The ceasefire agreement, which came into effect on November 10 after six-week battles and killed at least 5,000 people, was a defeat for the Armenian forces and gave Baku important geographical advances. Baku never released an official number of victims during the six weeks of fighting.
Azerbaijan’s announcement comes as Armenia confirmed on Sunday that 6 of its soldiers were injured in Nagorno Karabakh on Saturday after a ceasefire violation. In a statement, the Armenian Defense Ministry accused Baku of launching an attack on two towns with “armored vehicles” and “heavy artillery”. She said, “After those battles, which lasted for hours, the enemy managed to storm Khin Takhir village and approached Khtsabird village.”
These two villages are located in Hadrot district and border the new dividing line separating southern Karabakh, the two camps since the conclusion of the ceasefire agreement.
For its part, the Russian army, which is deploying a peacekeeping force to ensure compliance with the agreement, confirmed that it had registered a “breach of the ceasefire agreement” on December 11 without naming the person responsible for it.
During Saturday’s meeting in Baku with the French and US presidents of the Minsk Group, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev expressed “concern” over the announcement of new battles, but vowed to hit Armenian forces “with one hand again. “if the violence resumes.
