Azerbaijan says its military positions near border with Armenia fired upon

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Azerbaijan on Wednesday said that its military positions near the border with Armenia came under fire.

A statement by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said its positions were fired upon by Armenian forces near the settlement of Khanazakh in the Gorus region.

No further information was provided about the incident.

Armenia's Defense Ministry denied Baku's statement, claiming it does not "correspond to reality."

The incident is the first of its kind to be reported by Baku since Jan. 6.

Relations between Baku and Yerevan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Karabakh -- a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan -- and seven adjacent regions.

Most of the territory was liberated by Azerbaijan during a 44-day war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement that opened the door to normalization and demarcation talks.

In September 2023, Azerbaijan established full sovereignty in Karabakh following an "anti-terrorist operation" after which separatist forces in the region surrendered.​​​​​​​