Advanced detachments of the NKR Defense Army promptly detected the advancement attempt of adversary’s group and resorted to an organized defense. In the result of close combat, the adversary was pushed back, leaving dead Bayramov Vagif Dilgam (born in 1979), the Capitan of Azerbaijani Armed Force.
Numerous violations of the agreement on maintenance of cease-fire were recorded this night along the Line of Contact between the Armed Forces of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan. Along with the use of different caliber artillery weapons and mortars, the adversary carried out two reconnoiter subversive attempts.
The adversary continues to violate the agreement of ceasefire. On April 6 at 18:30 in the military base located in the northeastern parts of KarabakhAzerbaijani contact line a soldier of the Defense Army Armen K. Gasparyan, born in 1974, was mortally wounded by the mortar fire of the adversary. An investigation is underway to find out the details. NKR Defense Army shares the grief of the loss and expresses its support to A. Gasparyan’s family and relatives.
“We took all necessary measures on the level of the President, Prime Minister, MFA, Defense Ministry, and General Staff so that the sides manage to reach an agreement over the ceasefire. We are ready to support that these agreements are not breached, normalization of the situation is of key importance for now”, the Russian Foreign Minister said.
Azerbaijani groups comprised of up to 15 soldiers tried to attack and occupy two Armenian positions in the northern section of Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan Line of Contact . Viktor Arustamyan, NKR Defense Army Colonel, informed about this at the press conference in Stepanakert that both attempts of Azerbaijan were failed.
“We hope that this will reduce tensions along the frontline. While the sides do not respect and do not observe the ceasefire, there can be no talks about political progress. The US has always supported the OSCE Minsk Group and wishes the negotiations to be successful for establishing peace. High ranking U.S. officials have also joint that process, urging to cease the fire. The tension showed that it is high time for continuation of talks to reach a lasting peace. The political will of both sides is necessary for that”, Warlick said.
On our way to Karabakh, we learned that an Azerbaijani military helicopter had been shot down on April 2nd. It is easier for print journalists – dry official information is enough to complete a newspaper page. For a photographer it is more complicated. One cannot take pictures from the comfort of a hotel. A photographer should be on the scene.
“I am deeply disturbed by and condemn this terrible new escalation in Azerbaijan’s aggression against Nagorno Karabakh in the form of a significant military assault,” said Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) in a statement on Saturday. “Until Azerbaijan faces strong and meaningful consequences over their policy of escalation and violence … there is little chance of resolving the conflict and avoiding further bloodshed.”
“We deal with a breed, a phenomenon deprived of any elementary and simplest civilization rules and consciousness, which axed a sleeping young man, and its nation declares him a hero…it’s our duty to protect ourselves from them, and the international community, surely, should understand this. Attacking for the second time, Azerbaijan made us take a weapon and protect Karabakh not only as a military victory, but as a diplomatic achievement as well. Against the background of Azerbaijan’s resumption of war, program of Artsakh’s independence obtained more than stable grounding these days.”
Active operations weren’t conducted in the Line of Contact of Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan throughout this night upon the agreement reached on April 5 at 12:00.