One Armenian soldier was killed yesterday (7 March) following incidents on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, as both sides accuse each other of violating the ceasefire.
According to a statement by the Armenian Ministry of Defence, Azerbaijani troops opened fire on the Armenian position yesterday, as a result of which two servicemen received gunshot wounds. One of the soldiers, Sergeant Hrach Arami Manasaryan, died on the way to the hospital, while the other is said to be in a stable condition. The statement went on to express its deepest condolences to the family of the victim, and called for “the need for the simultaneous withdrawal of troops from the Armenia-Azerbaijan border and the deployment of an observation mission in the border area”. Azerbaijan denies the death of the Armenian serviceman as misinformation.
This latest incident comes after both sides have accused each other of repeatedly violating the ceasefire in the past few days. The Azerbaijani MoD claimed yesterday that Armenian forces had opened fire 23 times within a single day in the Goranboy, Tartar, Aghdam and Khojaly regions. It reported that Azerbaijan had not suffered any losses. Azerbaijan also alleged that Armenian forces opened fire earlier today, as a result of which “adequate retaliatory measures” were taken. Both the Armenian and Azerbaijani MoD’s reject each other’s accusations as untrue.