The employees of the Sotk gold mine in Armena's Gegharkunik province were evacuated when Azerbaijan launched an offensive against Armenia and began shooting on civilian settlements as well, Ruzanna Grigoryan, head of PR & CSR at GeoProMining, told Pastinfo on Wednesday, July 28 morning.

The mine stopped working when the Azerbaijanis opened indiscriminate fire in the vicinity on July 28 morning, Grigoryan said.

"About 150 people remain at the mine at night, and all of them were immediately evacuated," Grigoryan added.

In the wee hours of July 28, the units of the Azerbaijani armed forces, which had infiltrated the sovereign territory of Armenia since May 12, attacked the Armenian positions located in the north-eastern section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, triggering local battles. Three Armenian troops were killed, two others were wounded in the process, the Defense Ministry said, adding that the Azerbaijani forces have been thwarted back to their positions.