Azerbaijani troops shelling Aygepar and Movses villages from d-30 howitzers – Armenian defense ministry

YEREVAN, July 16. /ARKA/. The Azerbaijani Armed Forces from the night of July 16 fired at Aygepar and Movses villages from 122-mm D-30 howitzers, Shushan Stepanyan, the press secretary of the Armenian defense ministry, reported on her Facebook page.

“At night, at about 03:40, the enemy’s movements were noticed. Having passed to the circular defense, the Armenian units foiled the attempt of penetration of the enemy,” she wrote.

Stepanyan reported that after a hot battle, the enemy retreated, having suffered losses.

"At 05:20, Azerbaijani units began shelling the villages of Aygepar and Movses using D-30 howitzers. The fire continues at the moment," the spokesperson of the ministry said.

She noted that the units of the Armenian Armed Forces neutralized the Azerbaijani provocations and this is the first flagrant violation of the ceasefire, established since midnight on July 15.

About escalation of tension on Armenian-Azerbaijani border

On July 12-14, the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan carried out aggressive actions against Armenia in the north-eastern direction of the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border. Azerbaijan made attempts to violate the state border in the Tavush region of Armenia using a tank, mortars, howitzers, drones and Grad MLRS.

The shelling was carried out on Armenian strongholds, the Armenian villages of Chinari, Aygepar, Nerkin Karmirakhpyur and Paravakar, as well as the city of Berd, were attacked. Two enterprises, houses of civilians, a gas pipeline, were hit. More than 50 artillery shells were fired at populated areas of Armenia. As of July 15, there is a relative lull.

Units of the Armenian Armed Forces give a proportionate response to periodic shelling and suppress enemy activity. Air defense units of the Armenian Armed Forces destroyed the control system of UAVs of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, as well as 13 drones.

According to the situation on Wednesday, as a result of shelling of the wound, 20 servicemen received lungs of moderate severity, the condition of one is assessed as serious. Major Garush Hambartsumyan, captain Sos Elbakyan, as well as junior sergeants Smbat Gabrielyan and Grisha Matevosyan were killed by the enemy’s shot. There are no casualties among the civilian population of Armenia. Azerbaijan officially confirmed the death of 11 people.

Concerns regarding the escalation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border were expressed, in particular, by the Russian Foreign Ministry and the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, Toivo Klaar, co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, the US Department of State, the United Nations, NATO, the ICRC and other international structures. The CSTO also expressed serious concern over the escalation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan and called for an immediate ceasefire. Concern was also expressed by the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov, saying that Moscow was ready for mediation efforts to resolve the situation. -0-