‘Armenian armed detachment’ opens fire on Azerbaijani positions in Shusha, Aghdam districts

ISTANBUL

Azerbaijani military positions in the Shusha and Aghdam districts of the Karabakh region were attacked by members of an “Armenian armed detachment,” Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

“On Nov. 30, starting from 14:40 to 15:50, members of an illegal Armenian armed detachment in the territory of Azerbaijan … using various caliber weapons subjected to fire the Azerbaijan Army positions stationed in the directions of the Shusha and Aghdam regions,” an Azerbaijani Defense Ministry statement said.

The attack was carried out from the areas where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily deployed, according to the ministry.

“The Azerbaijan Army Units stationed in these directions took adequate retaliatory measures,” the statement added.

Earlier, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said that Armenian forces opened fire at positions in the Kalbajar and Lachin districts at midnight. It said that the Aghdam district was also attacked by an “Armenian armed detachment” with various caliber weapons on Tuesday.

Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions – Lachin, Kalbajar, Aghdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Qubadli, and Zangilan.

In the fall of 2020, in 44 days of clashes, Baku liberated several cities, villages and settlements in Karabakh from Armenian occupation, ending in a Moscow-brokered truce. The conflict’s peace agreement was celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.