Karabakh: Azerbaijan keeps escalating situation near villages

PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijan is keeping the atmosphere tense in the vicinity of the village of Khramort, Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), staging provocations and trying to disrupt the normal life of the village, the Karabakh Prosecutor General's office said in a statement Sunday, March 6.

"Besides the psychological pressure of threatening to use force, and spreading various statements through loudspeakers, this morning the Azerbaijani side again resorted to provocation, firing intensively at the Armenian side," the statement said.

"The situation calmed down due to the operative response of the Russian peacekeeping forces."

Khramort village chief Zorik Abrahamyan revealed that the fire was intensive and lasted for about 5-6 minutes, Pastinfo reports, and that the Azerbaijanis stopped firing only after the Armenian side's retaliatory measures. According to him, when the Russian peacekeepers arrived, the situation had already somewhat calmed down.

Abrahamyan noted that there is no guarantee that the Azerbaijanis won't target civilians working in the field, even of peacekeepers are present.

On March 4, the Azerbaijani military opened fire on the village of Nor Shen and used loudspeakers to make the residents leave their homes, threatening to use force otherwise, News.am reported. The same tactic has been used against Khramort for over a week now.