Azerbaijan says Armenia has been attacking its cities, civilian settlements

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 -- Azerbaijan on Sunday accused Armenia of firing at its cities and other civilian settlements, violating its obligations under international laws including the Geneva Conventions.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan said that Armenia had violated its obligations and failed to observe a humanitarian ceasefire that had been agreed upon last week, and had deliberately fired on civilians, homes, civilian objects and medical personnel.

 “We strongly condemn these acts of aggression by Armenia and call on the international community to take decisive steps to force Armenia to comply with international law and its international obligations,” said the statement which was made available to Bernama by the Azerbaijan Embassy in Malaysia. 

"Despite the agreement reached during the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia in Moscow with the mediation of the Russian Federation, to observe a humanitarian ceasefire from 12pm on Oct 10, the Armenian armed forces continue to grossly violate the agreement,” stressed the statement. 

The renewed intense military clashes that began on September 27 had resulted in the loss of many lives, including civilians on both sides. Both Azerbaijan and Armenia have blamed each other for the fighting.

In the latest development on Sunday, Ganja, the second-largest city in Azerbaijan which is far beyond the frontline and conflict zone of Nagorno-Karabakh, came under rocket fire at about 2 am.

 The attack killed at least nine civilians and injured 34 others, including minors. 

The Armenian Defence Ministry had called the reports about the attack on Ganja “an absolute lie”.

Armenia also accused Azerbaijan armed forces of shelling populated areas inside Karabakh, including Stepanakert, the region’s biggest city. 

Before the latest attack on Ganja, Azerbaijan had also accused Armenia of shelling Ganja on October 4.

The protracted bitter conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia started in 1988 – three years before the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. In 1992, a full-scale war broke out between the two former Soviet states until a ceasefire signed in May 1994. In 1991, the ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence but the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) is not recognised by any country in the world.

 The mountainous enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts which constitute about 20 per cent of Azerbaijan's territory are internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but is under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, strongly backed by Armenia.

Malaysia had said it supports all efforts aimed at finding a peaceful settlement of the conflict based on international law, including the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions. 

While joining the international community calling on Armenia and Azerbaijan to exercise maximum restraint and take concrete steps to de-escalate the tension between the two neighbours, Malaysia also urged the concerned parties to continue giving primacy to resolving the conflict amicably through dialogue and diplomacy.

-- BERNAMA