July 29, 2020 - 14:54 AMT
Azerbaijanis attack German hookah bar owned by Armenian businessman

A group of 20-30 masked people threw chairs around and smashed the windows of a hookah lounge belonging to an Armenian businessman in the German city of Cologne on July 24 night, Haypress revealed citing German media reports from July 28.

According to preliminary information, the group met in smaller groups before entering the bar at around midnight.

The Armenian owner of the bar revealed that one of the masked men who identified himself and the entire group as Azerbaijanis asked him if he was Armenian.

The attackers then attempted to break into the hookah bar, breaking the bar windows with chairs.

The police said considerable damage to property has been caused, but provided no more details. Law enforcement authorities are also assuming the incident was politically motivated and are now investigating the matter.

The situation on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan escalated on July 12, with Azerbaijan launching several unsuccessful infiltration attempts throughout the next week. The Azerbaijani military also used artillery and combat drones to target civilian homes in several border settlements in Armenia. Five servicemen of the Armenian army were killed, while Azerbaijan reported 12 deaths. In recent days, though, the situation has been relatively calm.

In recent weeks, clashes between Armenians and Azerbaijanis have been happening in the various parts of the world, with groups of Azerbaijanis identifying and attacking Armenians, cars with Armenian license plates and property belonging to Armenians.