Azerbaijani army violates ceasefire on eve of contact line monitoring

November 4, 2015 - 10:55 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijani armed forces continuously violated the ceasefire on the contact line with Nagorno Karabakh on the night of November 3-4.

According to the NKR Defense Ministry, 80 ceasefire violations by Azerbaijani armed forces were registered in the reporting period, with over 1200 shots fired from various caliber artillery weapons, as well as 60- and 82-mm mortars.

Karabakh defense forces continue controlling the situation, retaliating in case of necessity.

The OSCE Mission will conduct Thursday, November 5, a planned monitoring of the line of contact between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan in the eastern part of the village of Talish in Karabakh’s Martakert region.

From the positions of the Artsakh Defense Army, the monitoring will be conducted by Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk and Field Assistants Yevgeny Sharov (Ukraine) and Khristo Khristov (Bulgaria), as well as staff member of the Office Peter Svedberg (Sweden).

NKR authorities have expressed readiness to assist in conducting the monitoring and ensure the security of the OSCE Mission members.

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan broke out as result of the ethnic cleansing launched by the Azeri authorities in the final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 (when the Nagorno Karabakh Republic was proclaimed) to 1994 (when a ceasefire was sealed by Armenia, NKR and Azerbaijan). Most of Nagorno Karabakh and a security zone consisting of 7 regions are now under control of NKR defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group up till now.