Active brief fighting resumed along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on 11 January, reportedly resulting in death of one Azerbaijani and three Armenian servicemen.
Armenia’s Ministry of Defense released a statement that Azerbaijani army started shooting at the eastern side of the border, using drones and artillery. Two servicemen were reported to be killed on January 11 in the evening and body of the third killed serviceman was recovered from the area of fighting on 12 January morning. Two more servicemen were wounded, but their condition is non-life-threatening, the ministry said.
Azerbaijan’s Minsitry of Defense responded with a statement that its forces are only responding to the fires opened from the opposite side, with no use of heavy artillery or aviation. One 23-year-old officer was killed, and Azerbaijan’s General Prosecutor’s Office stated that it launched a probe into the officer’s death with charge of “murder on the basis of nationalist, racial, or religious hostility”.
Today, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry also stated that Armenian forces “once again committed provocation” on the state border from January 11 night till next morning, shooting at the direction of villages in Tovuz district of Azerbaijan. There were no casualties during this period, the statement read.
On January 12, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov had a phone call with Karen Donfried, Assistant to U.S. Secretary on European and Eurasian affairs. According to Ministry press release, Bayramov “stressed that the responsibility for this provocation lies directly with the Armenian military-political leadership.”
