Azerbaijani Defense Ministry: Armenian Armed Forces deliberately shell civilians

The Armenian Armed Forces shelled civilians of Terter and Aghdam regions last night, the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan said.

According to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, the Armenian side used large-caliber mortars and 122-mm howitzers D-30.

"The current situation on the line of contact is stable, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces fully control the situation," the Ministry of Defense noted.

The head of the executive authority of the Agdamsky district, Ragub Mamedov, said that as a result of overnight shelling killed a resident of the Chemenli village, Famil Mustafayev, and eight people were injured. All the injured are undergoing treatment.

Recall, on the night of April 2 all frontier positions of Azerbaijan were exposed to heavy fire from large-caliber weapons, mortars, grenade launchers and guns. In addition, Azerbaijani settlements near the front line, densely populated by civilians, were shelled.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20% of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US, are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.