First Azeri tank fire in two decades, Karabakh reports new casualty

First Azeri tank fire in two decades, Karabakh reports new casualty –

Armenianow – One Armenian soldier was killed in Nagorno-Karabakh with a bullet fired from a “large-caliber sniper rifle” late on Tuesday in what the military authorities in Stepankert said was a major ceasefire violation by Azerbaijani troops in the conflict zone. 

According to the Karabakh Defense Army, 24-year-old contract-based serviceman Garik Avanesyan was fatally wounded while on duty at a military outpost in the eastern direction of the Line of Contact. 

Meanwhile, for the first time since the 1994 ceasefire, an Azeri tank fired at the Armenian positions situated in the southern direction, it added. 

According to the Defense Army’s press service, the situation at the frontlines remains tense as Azerbaijani forces violated the ceasefire regime more than 180 times overnight, firing about 1,500 shots from firearms of different calibers. 

“The destabilizing actions of the adversary will not remain unpunished,” the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. It added that the consequences of the situation will be “heavy and irreversible” for Azerbaijan. 

The latest escalation comes amid international efforts to organize a fresh meeting between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to restart what seems to be a stalled negotiating process on the settlement of the protracted dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh. 

Political and military analysts in Armenia also ascribe the recent border violence to the constitutional referendum that was held in Armenia on December 6. They note that Azerbaijan continues the pattern of escalating the situation in the conflict zone during all major nationwide events, including electoral processes, taking place in Armenia. 

In response to Azerbaijan’s actions, earlier this week the Armenian side published a series of videos showing Azerbaijan’s military facilities being destroyed.