Artsakh’s Martuni and Martakert under rocket fire and air bombardment

YEREVAN, October 24. /ARKA/. During the day, Azerbaijan was shelling peaceful settlements in Artsakh, the Artsakh State Emergency Service reported on its Facebook page.

"From the MLRS Grad and Smerch, the city of Martuni and the village of Tagavand came under rocket fire. In the afternoon, military aviation bombed the city of Martakert. There are no casualties, the data on the destruction are being specified," the message says.

War in Artsakh

On September 27, at 07:10, Azerbaijani troops launched an offensive along the entire length of the contact line in Artsakh, but were thrown back in several directions. Intense fighting continues in the south, southeast and north of the front line. Turkey joined the aggression. Residential areas are being shelled as well. 

Azerbaijan is supported by the Turkish Armed Forces and foreign mercenary terrorists recruited by it. The Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression encounters a decisive rebuff from the Armenian Armed Forces along the entire frontline.

The Azerbaijani side suffered losses in manpower (more than 6,614  people killed and thousands wounded) and equipment, in particular, 217 UAVs, 6 units of TOS – 1A, 4 Smerch and Uragan MLRS, more than 600  tanks and other armored vehicles, 16 helicopters and 24 aircraft. According to the data of the defense ministry of Armenia and Artsakh, more than 950 Armenian servicemen were killed and hundreds wounded on the Armenian side. Also 37 civilians were killed and more than 118 wounded on the Armenian side. 

On October 9, following the meeting of the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Jeyhun Bayramov, with the mediation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, an agreement was reached on a ceasefire from 12:00 on October 10 for humanitarian purposes for the exchange of prisoners of war and the bodies of the dead. Armenia and Azerbaijan, with the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, on the basis of the basic principles of the settlement, are starting substantive negotiations with the aim of achieving a peaceful settlement as soon as possible. Two times humanitarian ceasefire agreements were reached, but Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire by opening fire at the opposite side and carrying out rocket attacks on residential areas.  

Martial law and general mobilization were declared in Artsakh and Armenia. -0--