Azerbaijani soldier dies in border shootout

During a shelling attack from the Armenian side on positions in the Kelbadjar district, a warrant officer of the Azerbaijani army was killed, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Azerbaijan reports today. The Armenian Ministry of Defence reported about three wounded soldiers and claimed that the Armenian side was not involved in the death of the Azerbaijani soldier.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Armenia and Azerbaijan are systematically exchanging accusations of shelling on the joint border. On July 16 and 17, the Armenian MoD accused Azerbaijani militaries of shelling the village of Eraskh on the border with the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (NAR) and the Ararat Region.

At about 4 p.m. on July 23, units of the Armenian armed forces from the positions in the Basarkecheyar District (the Vardenis District, – note of the “Caucasian Knot”) shelled the positions of the Azerbaijani army on the Kelbadjar sector of the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border, the Azerbaijani MoD reports today. “As a result of a sniper shot, warrant officer Yagubly Farman Telman oglu was killed,” the Azerbaijani MoD reports in its press release.

In turn, the Armenian Ministry of Defence reports that at about 5:00 p.m., the Azerbaijani side opened fire on the Armenian positions in the Gegarkunik Region and three soldiers were wounded as a result.

The Armenian Ministry of Defence associated the death of the Azerbaijani warrant officer with the relationship with his colleagues. The shelling attack on the positions “was preceded by shooting at Azerbaijani military bases, which may be related to an interpersonal incident between the Azerbaijani military men.” The Armenian Ministry of Defence declared that the Armenian armed forces did not fire until the Azerbaijani side opened fire on the Armenian positions.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 23, 2021 at 05:30 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.