U.S. urges citizens against travel to border areas in Armenia, Azerbaijan

PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. Embassy in Armenia and Azerbaijan has urged U.S. citizens to avoid travel near the line of contact and the border between the two countries.

In particular, Americans were advised to maintain vigilance and exercise caution "due to heightened tensions and recent violence along portions of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border".

They were also asked to avoid the area to the east of the M4 and M16 Highways north of the Dilijan National Park and up to the border with Georgia in Tavush province, Armenia and to not travel to Nagorno-Karabakh.

"The U.S. Embassy encourages U.S. citizens to monitor local news reporting. The Embassy will continue to monitor the security situation and provide additional information as needed," the embassy's statement in Armenia read.

The U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan, meanwhile, urged U.S. citizens to reconsider non-essential travel outside of the Absheron Peninsula. U.S. Embassy employees and their family members were instructed not to travel outside of the Absheron Peninsula.

The U.S. Embassy in Baku also encouraged Americans to exercise caution in public spaces and avoid any public demonstrations that develop.

The situation on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan escalated on July 12, with Azerbaijan launching several unsuccessful infiltration attempts throughout the next week. The Azerbaijani military also used artillery and combat drones to target civilian homes in several border settlements in Armenia. Five servicemen of the Armenian army were killed, while Azerbaijan reported 12 deaths.