The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry issued a statement headlined “Armenian armed forces committed large-scale sabotage in the directions of Dashkasan, Kalbajar, and Lachin” around 1:00 AM Tuesday, and reported: “Subversive teams of the Armenian armed forces have mined the areas and supply roads between the positions of the units of the Azerbaijani Army in different directions, using the mountainous relief of the area and existing ravines in the dark.
“As a result of urgent measures taken by our units to immediately prevent these acts, a battle took place. Some positions, shelters, and bases of the Azerbaijani Army in the territory of Dashkasan, Kalbajar, and Lachin regions by the units of the Armenian armed forces located in the direction of Basarkecher, Istisu, Garakilsa, and Gorus settlements were fired on with various types of weapons, including mortars. As a result, there are losses among personnel, and damage to military infrastructure. … Decisive response measures are being taken by the units of the Azerbaijan Army. Necessary measures are being taken to silence the firing points of the Armenian armed forces and prevent the expansion of the scale of this military conflict.
“There are losses among the personnel of the armed forces of Armenia involved in the sabotage operations.”
The Armenian Defense Ministry issued a statement saying that at around midnight, Azerbaijani forces attacked Armenian positions in the Syunik, Vayots Dzor, and Gegharkunik provinces from both the east and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan, using artillery and armed drones.
Armenian media reported that “a meeting of the Security Council was held under the leadership of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan… which decided on steps aimed at counteracting the aggressive actions by Azerbaijan against the sovereign territory of Armenia.
“A decision was made to officially address the Russian Federation to the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the UN Security Council to implement the provisions of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance regarding the aggression against the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday: “As we have long made clear, there can be no military solution to the conflict. We urge an end to any military hostilities immediately.”
In the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Azerbaijan, with support from Turkey and foreign mercenaries, fought the breakaway Republic of Artsakh and Armenia. It was the latest escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, which was part of Azerbaijan during the Soviet era and was internationally recognized as such, with the exception of the majority-Armenian Artsakh.
