The Armenian and Azerbaijani Ministries of Defence (MODs) have each reported casualties after a serious escalation on Wednesday (28 July) morning on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Both sides blame the escalation on the other. The situation which started in the early hours of Wednesday (28 July) morning was put to an end by the mediation of the Russian military contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh at 10:00. Whilst the Armenian side reports that the ceasefire is being “largely respected”, the Azerbaijani side accuses Armenia of continuing to aggravate the situation using tanks and 120mm mortars.
The Armenian MOD reports that subdivisions of the Azerbaijani armed forces resorted to provocations from 03:40 on Wednesday morning in the north-eastern part of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. It accuses the Azerbaijani armed forces of launching an offensive military campaign on the border of Armenia’s Gegharkunik Province, resulting in multiple local battles from Sotk village to Verin Shorzha village, in an attempt “to improve its positions, creating favourable conditions for advancement”. Statements this morning report the deaths of three soldiers – Senior Lieutenant Hayk Hovhannes Gorgyan, Private Koryun Arayik Harutyunyan and Private Davit Garnik Kocharyan – in the “immense firefight”, with a further four servicemen injured. The statements report no change to the line of contact.
The Azerbaijani MOD reports that starting from 00:50 on the morning of 28 July, Armenian armed forces fired on Azerbaijani positions in the Kalbajar district of the state border. It reports that as a result of the fire, two of its servicemen – Aliyev Sadig Nizami oglu and Imranli Imran Dilgam oglu – were injured. The statements by the Azerbaijani MOD claim that “Armenia bears full responsibility for the escalation of tensions along the state border between the two countries”.
A statement this morning by the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) says that the alleged attack was conducted by the Azerbaijani military units that it claims have been stationed on Armenian territory since 12 May – an accusation denied by Baku, which has previously claimed that its soldiers are on Azerbaijani territory as evidenced by maps available to both sides. Yerevan accuses Azerbaijan of “deliberately initiating conflict”, adding that the Azerbaijani leadership “substantiates such actions by making territorial-historical claims to Armenia”. The counter statement by the Azerbaijani MFA claims that it “reserves the right to protect its territorial integrity within its international borders, and a decisive response will be given to any steps taken against [its] territorial integrity”.