Azerbaijan says Armenian armed groups fired upon military positions in Aghdam region

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Baku on Monday said that illegal Armenian armed groups fired upon Azerbaijani military positions in the Aghdam district of the Karabakh region.

On July 3, members of illegal Armenian armed groups in the territory of Azerbaijan, where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily stationed, fired at the positions of our army located in the direction of the Aghdam region, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The statement said the Azerbaijani Army took “adequate response measures” in the area, adding that members of illegal Armenian armed groups also tried to build "long-term fortification devices."

“As a result of urgent measures taken by our units, the works were immediately stopped,” the statement concluded.

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

In the fall of 2020 in 44 days of fighting, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages, and settlements from Armenian occupation. The Russian-brokered peace agreement is celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.

Despite ongoing peace agreement talks between Baku and Yerevan, tensions between the neighboring countries have escalated in recent months due to the Lachin corridor, which serves as the sole land route providing Armenia access to Karabakh.