Tensions increase on the line of control separating Armenian and Azerbaijani Forces
Sunday, 1 May 2011
A series incident occurred over the last few days on the line of control separating Armenian and Azerbaijani forces. A statement from the Armenian Foreign Ministry yesterday said that 3 Armenian soldiers had been killed and one injured as a result of sniper fire from the Azerbaijani side. The statement called for international condemnation of the Azerbaijani action.
The incident follows on another incident at the beginning of April when a nine year old Azerbaijani boy was killed by Armenian sniper fire.
The incidents reflect increased tension on the line of control separating the two sides and is a sign of the frustration felt on all sides at the lack of progress in resolving the Karabakh conflict. Tens of thousands of Armenian and Azerbaijani soldiers face each other on the line of control established by the cease fire agreed by the two sides in 1994, in trench conditions reminiscent of the 1st World War.
The Armenian news portal tert.am on Saturday quoted an anonymous Armenian Ministry of Defence source as saying that Armenia’s Defence Ministry was planning “large-scale punitive” actions on the Line of Contact that are aimed at causing three times as much damage to Azerbaijani side.
Compiled by commonspace.eu editorial team