The situation on the line separating Armenian and Azerbaijani forces was described as "very serious and tense" by an Armenian government spokesman on Wednesday night, as both sides in the Karabakh conflict report incidents involving civilians.
The spokesperson of the Armenian Ministry of Defence, Artsrun Hovhannesian, said that Azerbaijan fired simultaneously on a number of villages in the Tavush district. One of the communities affected was the Baghanis Settlement, where the local head posted pictures of some of the damage on his facebook page. Narek Sahakyan however said that only material damage was sustained. In the nearby village of of Koti a fifty year old woman and her son were injured and have been hospitalised.
Azerbaijan also reports incidents on Wednesday night. It claims Armenian forces shot at the villages of Alibeyli and Aghdam in the Tovuz district. In Alibeyli village the houses of Tariyel Ismayilov and Mayil Aghajanov were burned. Fire fighters were deployed to the scene. The same source said that one elderly civilian, Tofig Kazimov, received a gunshot wound to the abdomen. He was hospitalized and underwent surgery. His state is said to be critical but stable.
The incidents are the latest in a series of ongoing breaches of the cease fire that in recent days seem to have targeted civilian communities.
source: commonspace.eu with APA (Azerbaijan) ArmenPress (Armenia) and other agencies.
photo: Map of the Tavush Region of Armenia highlighting area of ongoing hostilities.