AZERBAIJANI DRONE SHOT DOWN IN NAGORNO KARABAKH
by Joshua Kucera
EurasiaNet.org
Sept 15 2011
NY
Armenian forces in the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh have
shot down an Azerbaijani unmanned drone aircraft, they say.
Azerbaijani officials thus far have been silent on the issue, but
the Armenians have produced photos and video of the wreckage.
According to Armenian Reporter:
Vazgenashen, previously known as Gulably, is about ten kilometers from
the Line of Contact (LoC) between the two armies. Armenian officials
believe the aircraft was on a reconnaissance mission.
Karabakh military officials said there was a spike in Azerbaijani UAV
activity in recent days most of it along the LoC. But an Azerbaijani
intrusion at such depth can be considered a significant escalation.
The aircraft went down on September 12 at 7:30 AM local time
near Vazgenashen in Nagorno Karabakh’s Martuni district “as a
result of special measures undertaken by units of air defense and
radio-electronic warfare of the Karabakh Defense Army,” the army’s
press office reported.
According to most early speculation, the drone was an Israeli-made
Hermes 450. Armenian lobby groups in the U.S. have wasted no time;
the Armenian National Committee of America has said it has identified
parts on the UAV that are from a Canadian company with an office
in the U.S., thus a potential violation of sanctions on arms sales
to Azerbaijan (or Armenia). And it’s written to Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton to ask her to look into it.
It’ll be very interesting to see how Azerbaijan responds.
From: A. Papazian