Defense ministry: Armenia targeting Azerbaijan’s civilians

Armenian armed forces are targeting civilian population of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani defense ministry told Trend on April 28th.

Starting from April 27th evening until 04:00 (GMT + 4 hours) on April 28th, Armenian armed forces fired at settlements in Azerbaijan's Terter and Aghdam districts using large-caliber mortars and D-30 howitzers, according to the ministry.

"Azerbaijani armed forces carried out retaliatory strikes only on Armenia's military facilities," the defense ministry said. "The situation on the contact line between Armenian and Azerbaijani armies is stable, and Azerbaijani armed forces fully control the operational situation."

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.