Azerbaijan's threat to strike Armenia NPP "violates int'l humanitarian law"

Azerbaijan's threat to strike Armenia NPP

PanARMENIAN.Net - The threats by Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry to launch missile attacks on Armenia's Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant indicate the level of desperation and the crisis of mind of the Azerbaijani authorities, Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Anna Naghdalyan said Thursday, July 16 evening.

Azerbaijan earlier threatened to strike the Metsamor nuclear power plant in Armenia, amid renewed violence on the border between the two countries. Defense Ministry spokesman Vagif Dargahli said "the Armenian side should not forget that modern missile systems in the arsenal of our army allows us to hit the Metsamor NPP with high accuracy, which could lead to a major disaster for Armenia."

Armenia, however, has never officially declared that it would strike any strategic or non-strategic object in Azerbaijan.

"The actions threatened by Azerbaijan are a flagrant violation of the International Humanitarian Law in general and the First Additional Protocol to Geneva Conventions in particular. Such threats are an explicit demonstration of state terrorism and the genocidal intent of Azerbaijan," Naghdalyan said.

"Moreover, with such statements the Azerbaijani authorities acts as a menace to all the peoples of the region, including their own people."

"We strongly condemn the nuclear threats voiced by Azerbaijan, which demonstrate absolute absence of responsibility and sound judgement from this particular member of the international community."

Naghdalyan added that Azerbaijan must publicly denounce such threats at once.

On July 12, Azerbaijan launched two failed infiltration attempts on the border with Armenia whose troops immediately identified the saboteurs and thwarted them back to their positions. Since the next morning, the Azerbaijani military has been firing on the Armenian positions, also using large caliber grenade launchers and combat drones to target civilian homes in several border settlements. Four servicemen of the Armenian army have been killed, 20 others and one civilian have been wounded, while Azerbaijan has reported 12 deaths.

In the wee hours of July 16, around 100 Azerbaijani troops launched another infiltration attempt, but were against thwarted back to their posts after suffering major losses. Several hours later, they began to shell Armenian villages, damaging as many as 10 houses, a kindergarten and other facilities overnight.

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