- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Armenian Howitzers Blast Away on Anniversary of Genocide Despite Ceasefire

© REUTERS / StaffEthnic Armenian soldiers walk in a trench at their position near Nagorno-Karabakh's town of Martuni, April 8, 2016
Ethnic Armenian soldiers walk in a trench at their position near Nagorno-Karabakh's town of Martuni, April 8, 2016 - Sputnik International
Subscribe
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry's press service stated on Monday that Armenia had violated the countries' ceasefire deal on the frontline in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region 130 times in the preceding 24 hours.

As Armenians around the world observed a day of remembrance honoring the victims of the Ottoman Empire's genocide of their people 101 years ago, Yerevan continued to battle in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. According to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, they violated a standing ceasefire 130 times over the course of 24 hours.

"Despite the previously reached agreement on the ceasefire regime along the contact line in Karabakh, the Armenian side, using howitzer D-30 and mortars, violated the regime along the line 130 times in 24 hours," the press service said.

A volunteer walks on a road in the Nagorno-Karabakh's village of Talish April 6, 2016 - Sputnik International
World
Yerevan Accuses Baku of Overnight Border Shelling
The Azerbaijani forces responded with 131 fire strikes, according to the ministry.

On April 2, tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani breakaway region with a predominantly Armenian population, escalated. Baku and Yerevan accused each other of provoking the hostilities, however, the sides succeeded in reaching a ceasefire agreement on April 5, which has been followed by near-daily reports of truce violations.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been engaged in a dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988, when the autonomous region left the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic and proclaimed independence after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. The secession triggered a war that lasted until a Russia-brokered ceasefire was signed in 1994.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала