Actions of Azerbaijani military units not controlled by command

Armenian Defense Ministry issued a statement in connection with repeated violations of the ceasefire by Azerbaijani troops. According to the ministry’s press service, the statement says:

“In defiance of numerous calls of the international community and the OSCE Minsk Group to observe the ceasefire during the Winter Olympics, the Azerbaijani armed forces continue to fire at Armenian frontline positions and settlements. These actions give reason to believe that actions of Azerbaijani military units are either not controlled by the commanders or are aimed at destabilizing the situation on the border through provocations.

In the past few days the Azerbaijani side has repeatedly violated the ceasefire regime in various directions of the border with Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. Desultory fire was mainly opened at the Nagorno Karabakh section.

On February 9, 58 shots in the direction of Armenian positions were recorded, including 54 shots at frontline positions of the NKR Defense Army. 66 shots were recorded on February 10, including 62 shots in the direction of the NKR Defense Army’s frontline positions. 53 shots were recorded on February 11, including 50 shots at the NKR Defense Army’s frontline positions. 61 shots were recorded on February 12, including 59 shots at the NKR Defense Army’s frontline positions. In 10% of cases, fire was opened from large-caliber machine guns and sniper rifles.

Armenian servicemen refrained from returning the fire and did not fire a single shot.

The Armenian armed forces confidently control the situation along the border, strictly observe the ceasefire and will resort to appropriate actions only in case the enemy’s aimed fire.

As regards the Azerbaijani propaganda machine’s information about ceasefire violations by the Armenian side, it should be noted that this is an unsuccessful attempt to mislead the international community and the Azerbaijani people by spreading misinformation”.