STEPANAKERT — Three Armenian soldiers were killed in Nagorno-Karabakh as the Azerbaijani Armed Forces continued to violate the ceasefire in Artsakh, the Defense Army reports.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s Defense Army said Azerbaijani army units continued to violate the ceasefire in the east of the region, using firearms and attack drones, including Bayraktar TB-2s.
“Two contract soldiers of the Defense Army were killed because of the actions of the enemy. The number of those wounded is being verified,” it said.
Later on Friday, the death toll rose to 3.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s military said that the situation in the east of the region remained “extremely tense” as of Friday afternoon.
Later in the day the Defense Army said that at least 14 Armenians were wounded in overnight skirmishes with Azerbaijani forces that attempted to advance further into the territory which is now the zone of responsibility of Russian peacekeepers who were deployed in the region after the 2020 war.
Authorities in Stepanakert admitted that Azerbaijani forces took control of one Armenian village in the eastern Askeran district. They said that they are in “active dialogue” with commanders of the Russian peacekeeping force over the situation.
Artsakh Information Center reported that “despite the high-level talks, we note that the Russian peacekeeping force deployed in Artsakh managed only to stop the advance of the Azerbaijani armed forces in the Parukh community of Askeran region at this stage, and firing from different caliber weapons continue.
“At the same time, we emphasize that the Russian peacekeeping forces have not been able to solve the main problem within their mission, as the Azerbaijani troops that invaded the village of Parukh and the adjacent areas on March 24, remain on the ground.
The Artsakh authorities, however, hope that due to the decisive efforts of the Russian side, the Azeri troops will return to their starting positions, and the civilian population of Artsakh will be able to return to their homes, otherwise the security guarantees given to the civilian population in Artsakh are in serious doubt,” the statement says.
