A surprise inspection of the combat readiness of the troops is under way in the Armenian Armed Forces, press secretary of the Ministry of Defense Shushan Stepanyan said today.
According to her, the inspection involves military units of the first echelon and part of the central subordination forces, which are put on a high level of combat readiness, ARKA reported.
The inspection was ordered to find out the combat effectiveness of the military units and their ability to act quickly in the current situation. Interaction between divisions and assistance forces will also be inspected. The inspection includes also fire control drills and operational-tactical episodes.
Starting from July 12 afternoon, while grossly violating the ceasefire regime in Azerbaijan’s Tovuz district on the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border, the Armenian armed forces opened fire at the Azerbaijani positions by using artillery. The battles continued until July 16.
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, Armenian armed forces occupied 20% of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
