900 ceasefire violations, sabotage attempt by Azeris reported Dec 20-27December 27, 2014 - 17:04 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - About 900 ceasefire violations by Azeri side were reported at the line of contact between Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) and Azerbaijani armed forces from Dec 20-27. Azerbaijan fired over 11000 shots from various caliber weapons towards the positions of Karabakh defense army, which observed the ceasefire and retaliated only in case of necessity. Also, an Azeri sabotage attempt in the south-western sections of the Karabakh armed forces’ positions was thwarted as the rival tried to infiltrate the territory on the night of December 25. In the infiltration attempt, the rival used various caliber weapons and hand grenades. On sighting the commando group, the Karabakh troops forced the latter to retreat, with losses on Azeri side reported. On December 8, Azerbaijani armed forces undertook a sabotage attempt at the line of contact with the Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) Republic “The saboteurs were rebuffed, with losses,” Tert.am quoted NKR presidential spokesman David Babayan as saying. As reported by the NKR defense army press office, serviceman Gagik Ispiryan, 19, was killed by Azeri fire. Meanwhile, Azeri media reported several incidents. According to haqqin.az, two Azerbaijani soldiers were blown up by a mine. Salamnews agency said 3 Azeri servicemen were injured in a car accident. A total of 28 sabotage attempts were taken by Azerbaijan in 2014, with late June as the highest point of escalation: at the time, Baku announced a record number of losses since the ceasefire agreement was inked. Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Freedom House concerned by mounting reports of police violence in Armenia Freedom House urged Armenian authorities to investigate this pattern of excessive force and inhumane treatment. CSTO recognizes Armenia’s sovereign right to withdraw Tasmagambetov has said that if Armenia decides to leave the organization, “it will be the sovereign right of Armenia.” |