Azeri forces fire 2000 shots in ceasefire violationDecember 23, 2015 - 10:45 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijani armed forces continuously violated the ceasefire on the contact line with Nagorno Karabakh on the night of December 22-23. According to the Karabakh Defense Ministry, in the reporting period Azerbaijani armed forces have fired 2000 shots from various caliber artillery weapons, 82-mm mortars, AGS-17 grenade launchers, as well as ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft autocannon. Karabakh troops controll the situation, retaliating in case of necessity. According to the Karabakh Defense Ministry, on the night of December 21-22 Azerbaijani armed forces have fired 900 shots from various caliber artillery weapons, 60-, 82-mm mortars, AGS-17 and AGM-9 grenade launchers, as well as TR-107 rocket launcher. Dwelling upon the current situation on the contact line, Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan said that escalation is usually conditioned by political motives. “The latter might result from the Presidential meeting, or some inner political developments in Azerbaijan, also perhaps targeting the Armenian society,” he said. According to Hovhannisyan, Azerbaijan’s usage of tanks is not as dangerous as that of artillery. “Not usually deployed on the frontline, tanks are brought to the positions specially. An even more serious escalation was the use of the D-30 howitzer. Azerbaijan has already used every possible ammunition type, with the retaliation on Armenian side not necessarily made with the same weapons,” he noted. Commenting on the public's unwillingness to understand the reason behind casualties, Hovhannisyan said: “This is war, not ceasefire. In current state of affairs, the operational effectiveness is determined not by 1 or 2 casualties, but by disruption of the rival’s intentions." Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Armenia: Protesters march to parliament, some spend the night on street The protesters did not disperse despite heavy rain that began at around 2 a.m. local time. Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. €3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms. |