Armenia acknowledges its fault for shelling Azerbaijan's Gubadli region

Armenia's State Security Service accused the Armenian border guards of violating the rules, which led to a shootout in the Gubadli district of Azerbaijan.

The service said that a criminal case has been initiated into an apparent violation by border guards of a number of rules of military service.

According to the State Security Service, on April 10, a conscript soldier of the service's border troops, having learned that a shepherd and his herd had gotten lost and ended up on Azerbaijani territory, together with his colleagues “decided to cross the border without permission and return the cattle, thereby violating the rules of service, which "negligently caused significant damage, led to a wanton shooting, and endangered the lives and health of people".

Azerbaijani State Border Service's statement

On April 10, the Azerbaijani State Border Service reported that an Azerbaijani State Border Guard Service unit preventing a violation of the state border was fired upon from an Armenian Armed Forces' combat post, wounding a senior lieutenant.

Two individuals from the direction of Nerkin Khnzoresk village of Armenia, opposite the positions of the frontier troops of the the State Border Service located in the Jijimli settlement, violated the state border, crossing approximately 300 meters into Azerbaijani territory.

"The border guard of the Azerbaijani State Border Service preventing the violation of the state border was fired from a combat post of the Armenian Armed Forces, as a result of which Senior Lieutenant Rovshan Mammadov was wounded," the statement reads.

The serviceman was immediately evacuated to a medical facility. A criminal case was opened.