Human rights defender: Azerbaijani troops in Shushi fire at Stepanakert
YEREVAN, July 16. /ARKA/. On July 15, Azerbaijani military personnel, deployed in the town of Shushi, violated the trilateral statement on ending hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, signed by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia last November 10, Artsakh human rights defender Gegham Stepanyan said in a Facebook post.
He said the Azerbaijanis used their machine guns to fire shots in the direction of Artsakh capital Stepanakert.
Stepanyan said employees of his office visited the Armenavan quarter of Stepanakert and were told by the local residents that at about 5:00 pm they heard 4-5 automatic rounds.
This information was also confirmed also by local authorities. Fortunately, the shelling did not result in casualties, Stepanyan wrote.
He said the violation was reported to the Russian peacekeeping forces. Stepanyan added that in recent days Azerbaijan has been increasingly resorting to provocative actions in order to intimidate the Armenian population and create an atmosphere of fear and tension.
Stepanyan called for introducing a mechanism for investigating such incidents to contain the Azerbaijani side and exclude provocations.
According to him, Azerbaijan's encroachments on the physical and mental integrity of the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh should be given an appropriate assessment (including public) by the Russian peacekeepers and the international community.
On September 27, 2020, Azerbaijani armed forces, backed by Turkey and foreign mercenaries and terrorists, attacked Nagorno-Karabakh along the entire front line using rocket and artillery weapons, heavy armored vehicles, military aircraft and prohibited types of weapons such as cluster bombs and phosphorus weapons.
After 44 days of the war, on November 9, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a statement on the cessation of all hostilities. According to the document, the town of Shushi, the districts of Agdam, Kelbajar and Lachin were handed over to Azerbaijan, with the exception of a 5-kilometer corridor connecting Karabakh with Armenia.
A Russian peacekeeping contingent was deployed along the contact line in Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor. -0-
