Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) denounced Azerbaijan's latest violation of its ceasefire accord with Nagorno Karabakh, which left two dead and several wounded, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA.)

The Azerbaijani attack came just days before the 19th anniversary of Karabakh's independence, celebrated on September 2. On June 18, a similar attack by Azerbaijan, again in the Mardakert region, claimed the lives of five soldiers, making it the worst ceasefire violation in recent years.

"These provocations by the armed forces of Azerbaijan can not be allowed to continue and I condemn them in the strongest terms," noted Rep. Pallone, in a statement released earlier today. "I have long been advocating for restricting military aid to Azerbaijan and their recent actions only confirm why the U.S. can not allow our resources be used to provoke regional instability."

Rep. Mark Kirk concurred noting, that "Azerbaijan's increasingly aggressive behavior in the region must not go unnoticed by the international community and U.S. policymakers. As Baku escalates tensions in Nagorno Karabakh, I strongly urge Secretary Clinton to support additional restrictions on military assistance to Azerbaijan."

"The Obama Administration's failure to clearly condemn Azerbaijan's attacks and threats of war against Nagorno Karabakh have only emboldened the Aliyev regime to escalate cease fire violations and further jeopardize peace negotiations," stated ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "We look to Secretary Clinton and the OSCE Minsk Group co-Chair Robert Bradtke to issue a strong statement against Azerbaijan's latest breach of the cease-fire and take immediate action to ensure U.S. military assistance is not being used against the people of Nagorno Karabakh."