Three Armenian civilians were killed as a result of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side on September 24.

The rival used artillery weapons and mortars of different calibre as it opened fire in the north-eastern direction of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The shelling left three civilians killed in Tavuh Province (Paytsar Arakelyan, 83, Shushan Asatryan, 94, and Sona Revazyan, 41).

“As a rule, the Azerbaijani side resorts to provocative actions on the eve negotiations and meetings targeted at the peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict, intentionally escalating tension at the border. This comes to prove that the military-political leadership of the neighbouring country ignores initiatives aimed at peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and periodically destabilize the situation at the line of contact,” the Armenian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

“The current situation is a result of insidious tactics of the Azerbaijani military-political leadership and contradicts the logic of negotiations within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group and the principles of international humanitarian law,” the Ministry declared.

The Armenian Ministry of Defense urges the Azerbaijani side to refrain from steps aimed at escalation and take practical measures to stabilize the situation. It also urges residents of villages bordering Azerbaijan to avoid serving a shield for own Armed Forces.

“The Armenian Armed Forces will resort to equivalent actions to stabilize the situation and restrain the Azerbaijani troops,” the Ministry said, adding that “the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan will bear full responsibility for the consequences.”