Armenia claims Azerbaijani forces fired at miners near border

Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry has denied the report, calling it "false and disinformation."

Ethnic Armenian soldiers stand in a trench at their position near Nagorno-Karabakh's town of Martuni, April 8, 2016.  (photo credit: REUTERS)
Ethnic Armenian soldiers stand in a trench at their position near Nagorno-Karabakh's town of Martuni, April 8, 2016.
(photo credit: REUTERS)

Armenia's Defense Ministry claimed on Saturday that Azerbaijani troops fired at Armenian military positions and at the Sotk gold mine in eastern Armenia, injuring one miner.

The Armenian Defense Ministry stated that the shooting was "suppressed by countermeasures," adding that the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border was "relatively stable" as of Saturday afternoon. The workers at the Sotk mine have all been evacuated.

Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry has denied the report, calling it "false and disinformation."

Earlier in the week, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry claimed that Armenian forces fired at Azerbaijani forces in the village of Zeylik, around 30 kilometers from the city of Ganga and nearly 40 kilometers from the border, adding that "adequate response measures" were taken by Azerbaijani forces. The Armenian Defense Ministry called the claim "misinformation."

A week before that incident, Azerbaijan's State Border Service claimed that a "sabotage group" of the Armenian Armed Forces attempted to infiltrate into Azerbaijan and warned that it would take "more serious measures" if the incident was repeated.

 An Azeri soldier and police officer talk as they stand guard at the Kalbajar district, Azerbaijan, December 21, 2020 (credit: AZIZ KARIMOV/REUTERS)
An Azeri soldier and police officer talk as they stand guard at the Kalbajar district, Azerbaijan, December 21, 2020 (credit: AZIZ KARIMOV/REUTERS)

In April, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Azerbaijani forces had repeatedly violated the ceasefire between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the Republic of Artsakh, a de facto republic internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. In 2020, the area where the republic is situated was recaptured by Azerbaijan.

In March, Azerbaijani forces crossed the line of contact near the village of Parukh in the Republic of Artsakh, entering the village of Khramort. A day later, an Azerbaijani Bayraktar TB2 drone carried out strikes against forces belonging to Artsakh, killing three Armenian soldiers.

The Russian Defense Ministry issued a statement at the time saying that Azerbaijan had violated the ceasefire reached at the end of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war by crossing the line of contact, sparking outrage from Azerbaijani officials.

On April 6, Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to hold peace talks to address tensions over the Nagorno-Karabakh area.

In 2020, a slightly more than month-long war broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and nearby areas, ending with a new line of contact drawn and Russian peacekeepers deployed along the line. Sporadic clashes have been reported along the line since the war.

Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.