Author: Emil Lazarian

BAKU, Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan said it launched a retaliatory operation Wednesday against Armenian forces in Nagorno Karabakh after Armenia opened fire and killed an Azerbaijani soldier, according to its defense ministry.

"On the morning of August 3, members of illegal Armenian armed detachments in the territory of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent is temporarily deployed, were subjected to intensive fire from the Azerbaijan Army positions stationed in direction of the Lachin region," the ministry said in a statement.

The retaliatory move comes after an Azerbaijani soldier was killed "as a result of the terrorist and sabotage action carried out by illegal Armenian forces this morning," it said.

The ministry said Azerbaijan "took relevant measures" and launched a counter operation after Armenian forces tried to seize the Kyrghgiz hill and establish new combat positions.

"As a result of the 'Revenge' retaliatory measure carried out by the Azerbaijani Army Units, the Girkhgiz peak, as well as Saribaba along the Karabakh ridge of the Lesser Caucasus and a number of other important heights were taken under control," it added.

The ministry also shared footage of the operation.

Meanwhile, the EU demanded an "immediate cessation" of hostilities between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces.

"It is essential to de-escalate, fully respect the ceasefire and return to the negotiating table to seek negotiated solutions," a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.

Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

Their most recent clashes were in September 2020, during which Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for nearly three decades.

A Russia-brokered deal brought an end to 44 days of intense conflict in November 2020.

The European Court of Human Rights

Armenia on Tuesday announced that it has filed a new complaint with the European Court of Human Rights accusing Azerbaijan of abusing rights of Armenian residents in the villages of Khramort and Parukh in Artsakh’s Askeran Region when Azerbaijani forces invaded that area in March.

The ECHR complaint was filed on July 27 this year, according to a social media post by the Office of the Representative of Armenia on International Legal Issues.

The complaint refers to the violation of the rights of civilians due to Azerbaijani aggression against the Armenian villages of Khramort and Parukh of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2022, to real threats voiced by Azerbaijan against the residents of borderline villages in Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as to cases of use of force in 2021-2022 by Azerbaijani armed forces against civilians in violation of the latter’s right to life.

After cutting off the gas supply to Armenian residents of Artsakh, Azerbaijani forces began a systematic campaign of harassment in the Askeran region, often broadcasting threats over loud speakers by telling residents to leave their villages or else face ramifications. This tactic was followed by intermittent shelling of civilian targets, which were under the protection of Russian peacekeepers.

On March 24, Azerbaijani forces breached the line of contact being monitored by the Russian peacekeeping forces and invaded the Parukh village and neighboring areas. After shelling Armenian positions in Artsakh, the Azerbaijani forces advanced their troops unto the strategic Karaglukh Heights overlooking all of Stepanakert. During this operation three Armenian soldiers were killed and 15 were wounded.

The Artsakh Defense Ministry maintains that Azerbaijani troops remain at some parts of Karaglukh heights near Parukh, with Artsakh authorities and Russian peacekeepers attempting to push the Azerbaijani forces back to their original positions.

The case filed last week was the third by Armenia to complain to the ECHR. In February 2021 a case was filed against Azerbaijan accusing it of violating international conventions during the 2020 Artsakh War. Another case, filed in June of last year, focused on the illegal sham trials of Armenian prisoners of war, accusing Baku of violating their rights and depriving the captives of their freedom.