Three Azeris killed in ‘heavy fighting’ over Karabakh

An Armenian serviceman guards an area close to the country’s border with Azerbaijan on February 16, 2015.

In a statement Monday, Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said that its soldiers Rauf Veliyev, Neman Ahmetzade and Zohrab Mustafazade were killed at separate locations along the contact line; the clashes occurred between Sunday night and early Monday morning.

According to Hajiyev, Armenia deliberately place firing points on civilian objects, from where the positions of the Azerbaijani armed forces are fired, turning civilians into the object of return fire. As tensions escalated, the two sides accused each other of hundreds of cease-fire violations involving artillery and high-caliber weapons.

The move triggered an armed conflict, which lasted until May 12, 1994 and led to Azerbaijan losing all control over Nagorno-Karabakh and several adjacent districts.

Meanwhile, Armenia’s Defense Ministry condemned the deadly attack as an “act of provocation”, saying it will derail diplomatic efforts to resolve the decades-long border conflict between the two states.

Nagorno-Karabakh military forces denied any losses, but acknowledged causing casualties among Azerbaijani troops.

Later the foreign ministers of both countries – Azerbaijan’s Elmar Mammadyarov and Armenia’s Edvard Nalbandian – met in New York, in the presence of mediators from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Azerbaijani side used rockets while attacking. Armenia has agreed to discuss the details of the mechanism, and we urged Azerbaijan to do the same. By turning the blind eye to Armenia’s illegal activities, the worldwide community can pave the way for a new source of conflict which will affect all countries of the region and other global actors. An escalation of violence is not in the interest of Azerbaijanis or Armenians, or a negotiated settlement.