More than 370 Armenian servicemen have been eliminated by the Azerbaijani armed forces since April 2 as a result of preventing Armenian attempts at sabotage, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said.
Six Armenian tanks, fifteen artillery units and reinforced engineering structures were destroyed and more than a hundred servicemen of the Armenian armed forces were killed in the shootouts on April 2nd. Twelve servicemen of the Azerbaijani armed forces were killed, one Mi-24 helicopter was shot down and one tank was damaged by a mine.
On April 3rd, despite the decision of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on a unilateral ceasefire, Armenian units continued to aggravate the situation. The Armenian side, realizing the futility of retrieving the lost positions in the directions of the Khojavend-Fuzuli and Aghdere-Terter districts, continues to fire at settlements near the contact line of troops, Trend reports. As a result of the fighting, the Armenian side has suffered numerous losses in manpower and military equipment. Three soldiers of the Azerbaijani armed forces were killed.
According to the ministry, the Azerbaijani armed forces destroyed three tanks and eliminated around 30 servicemen of the Armenian armed forces. An enemy battery was also destroyed in addition to tanks and troops. As a result, The Armenian side has suffered significant losses and left its positions. Then up to 170 soldiers and 12 armored vehicles of the Armenian side were neutralized by retaliatory strikes of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.
The Azerbaijani Armed Forces also destroyed the headquarters of the military base in the village of Madagiz, which is a strategically important military base located on the main road leading to the city of Aghdere.
Three battle tanks and personnel were deployed to the trenches, intended for the conduct of circular firing, were also destroyed on the contact line in the evening of April 4. The military units of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces located in the directions of the Khojavend and Fuzuli districts, in order to minimize the risk of shelling settlements by the opposing side, destroyed two enemy tanks with personnel and up to five wheeled vehicles with military equipment.
In total, up to 70 Armenian servicemen were killed and around 20 military equipment units of the enemy were completely destroyed by return fire during the operations carried out on April 4 and April 5.
16 Azerbaijani servicemen have been killed in the military operations in the last two days.
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.
