Armenia-Azerbaijan border calmer on 4th day of outbreak of fighting

For the fourth day now, hostilities on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border have resumed.  

It started with an incident on July 12 with an incident on the border of the Tovuz region of Azerbaijan and the Tavush region of Armenia.

Both sides have now reported casualties.

According to the latest reports of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Defense Ministries, since midnight the situation on the border has been relatively calm, and “artillery was not used at night.

● Situation escalates on the Armenian – Azerbaijani border, casualties on both sides

● Riots in Baku after bodies of those killed on border with Armenia brought back home

Information from Yerevan

The most discussed news in Yerevan on July 14 was a satellite image published by the press secretary of the Armenian Ministry of Defense Shushan Stepanyan. The photo shows the Azerbaijani village of Dondar Gushchu, located in the Tovuz region, about 10 kilometers from the border. Artillery positions are located around the village.

 A spokeswoman commented on the snapshot:

“The Azerbaijani side surrounded its population with artillery batteries, making them a target, and complains that the armed forces of Armenia are opening fire in this direction.”

After that, users of the Armenian Facebook segment began to post on their pages this information translated into 13 languages.

Why Armenia isn’t applying for help from the CSTO

“The extent and scale of the current conflict is not such as to force Armenia to turn to the Collective Security Treaty Organization for help. Armenia and its armed forces are clearly fulfilling their tasks,” said Artsrun Hovhannisyan, a former spokesman for the Ministry of Defense

Armenia is a member of this military bloc operating under the leadership of Russia. And Armenian journalists have repeatedly raised the issue of CSTO intervention in the situation at the border.

The organization has limited itself only to a traditional call for an immediate end to the shelling.

What the prime minister says

“The Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia once again prove that [Azerbaijan] cannot speak with us from a position of strength,” said Nikol Pashinyan at a meeting with senior officials of the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces on July 14.

Pashinyan also suggested that the president posthumously award four soldiers killed in the July fighting.

The president has already signed decrees awarding Major Garush Hambardzumyan the Order of Merit for the Fatherland II degree posthumously; Captain Sos Elbakyan – with the Medal for Courage, and junior sergeants Smbat Gabrielyan and Grisha Matevosyan – with medals for Military Service. 

Armenia used domestic drones for the first time in combat conditions

“July 13 will go down in history as the day of baptism of fire, fighting UAVs of Armenian production. For the first time, Armenian combat drones were used … in combat conditions and showed brilliant results,” wrote Artsrun Hovhannisyan, head of the command and staff department of the Military University of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia, on his Facebook page.

The very next day, at a briefing in Tavush, he told reporters that Armenian engineers closed the page for developing reconnaissance drones. 

Hovhannisyan also confirmed that the Armenian military shot down an Azerbaijani drone, one of the most powerful drones in its class in the world – the Israeli-made Hermes 900.  For this, the OSA-AKM system was used.

The Ministry of Defense published a video of the strike of the Armenian Armed Forces.

On the condition of the wounded

Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said that during the fighting in Tavush, 10 soldiers were injured of varying severity:

“One soldier is in critical condition.  Five are in moderate condition, the rest will return to duty in the coming week.”

Information from Baku

In the afternoon of July 14, the Azerbaijani-Armenian border in the direction of the Tovuz region was relatively calm. The fighting resumed with the beginning of the evening.

Already at night, the Ministry of Defense reported that during the battles in the direction of the Tovuz region, the stronghold of the next company of the Armenian army was destroyed by the fire of the Azerbaijani armed forces.

A few hours later, another official MO information appeared. “Another long-term firing point (DOT) of the Armenian armed forces, shelling the positions of our units and settlements in the direction of the Tovuz region, has been destroyed by the Azerbaijani army,” it said.

According to the official reports of the ministry, over the past day, enemy units violated the ceasefire 91 times, including on the contact line of troops in the direction of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“The information circulated by the Armenian media about the alleged use of Grad multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) by the Azerbaijani army against the Armenian armed forces in the Tovuz front line is misinformation,” said Vagif Dyarghahli, spokesman for the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

The human rights ombudsman of Azerbaijan (Ombudsman) Sabina Aliyeva arrived in the border zone, where active hostilities are being conducted.