Armenian troops open fire on Azerbaijani soldiers guarding border

By Ruslan Rehimov

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AA) - Armenian troops opened fire late Thursday on Azerbaijani soldiers guarding the Kalbajar region on the border between the two countries.

Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that the attack proves that "the Armenian side deliberately continues the policy of aggravating the situation and committing military provocations on the state border of the two countries on the eve of elections [in Armenia]."

No casualties or injuries were reported by the ministry.

"The Armenian side bears full responsibility for the incident," it added.

In 1991, the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, or Upper Karabakh, internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory, and seven adjacent regions.

On Sept. 27, 2020, the Armenian army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.

During a subsequent 44-day conflict which ended under a deal signed on Nov. 10, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from Armenian occupation.