October 28, 2020
Ankara-backed Syrian mercenaries in Azerbaijan (AP photo)
According to the defense officials of Armenia and Artsakh, reportedly in some areas Azerbaijan is surrendering control of the battlefield to Turkey-backed terrorists that have been fighting alongside Azerbaijani forces.
The Artsakh Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday that the Azerbaijani forces are establishing bases for the terrorist groups to camp down to fight Artsakh defense forces.
“We have officially announced that. Yes, in some directions Azerbaijan seems to have surrendered the control of some areas to terrorist groups,” said Armenia’s Defense Ministry representative Artsrun Hovhannisyan, who warned regional countries of the potential threat to security.
“According to radio reconnaissance data and analyzing the tactics and phone conversations between Turkish-Azerbaijani mercenaries and terrorists, it has become obvious that during the recent days, as a result of the retreat in some directions of the Armenian units for tactical considerations, the Azerbaijani armed forces are diligently establishing bases for terrorist groups in those areas, the activities of which can further escalate and destabilize the situation not only near the borders of Armenia and Artsakh, but pose a serious threat to the entire region,” said a statement from the Artsakh Defense Ministry.
The Artsakh defense ministry urged the Azerbaijani armed forces to adhere to the humanitarian ceasefire agreements, “otherwise face imminent retaliation.”
“During the day the enemy continued firing at peaceful settlements of Artsakh. Particularly, the cities of Shushi and Stepanakert were bombed by Smerch multiple rocket launchers, severely damaging the maternity hospital of the capital, and civilian infrastructures of the two countries. One civilian has been killed, some others are injured,” explained the Artsakh Defense Minister.
Artsakh presidential spokesperson Vahram Poghosyan warned Wednesday that the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan is continuing to carry out overt and deliberate war crimes, targeting Artsakh’s hospitals, schools, residential houses and other public objects from different weapons, killing or injuring civilians
“And the world with, its well-known media outlets, continues to silently record it, at best, regretting for the human losses,” said Poghosyan in a Facebook post.
“The international community should put an end to the futile actions aimed at stopping this war that has turned into a humanitarian disaster and take practical measures, otherwise, the crisis will further deepen into the region,” added Poghosyan.
“We once again urge the residents of the Azerbaijani settlements in whose houses Azerbaijani armed forces have positioned their military hardware, to leave and not to become a human shields against our retaliation to the war crimes of the Azerbaijani authorities,” said Poghosyan.
“Armenia calls for the immediate withdrawal of international terrorist organizations from the South Caucasus and resolutely rejects Turkey’s actions aimed at further destabilization of the region,” said a statement by Armenia’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.
“We strongly condemn the joint efforts of Turkey and Azerbaijan – terrorist supporting countries – to turn their countries into a hub of international terrorism and spread that plague throughout the region. In order to confront this threat, close cooperation among all parties interested in regional security is required,” added the foreign ministry.
“Armenia and Artsakh, unlike our two neighbors, do not host, but fight terrorists,” added the statement.
