On July 31, Armenian forces attempted to covertly infiltrate Azerbaijani positions during the middle of the night in Agdam and Terter districts (Line of Contact in Nagorno Karabakh region) and in Gazakh district of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan-Armenian border) away from the main conflict zone.
The attack was repelled by Azerbaijani forces. Nine soldiers of Azerbaijani army were killed in the attack. On Aug. 2, Armenian forces continued their attack, and four more Azerbaijani soldiers were killed in the offensive.
This takes place as Azerbaijan continues its commitment to finding peaceful resolution to the conflict. Armenian leadership continues its policy of provoking war to destabilize the region since 1994 when the cease-fire agreement was signed. Ambassador James Warlick, the U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group has called for the cease-fire to be respected.
Armenia continues to occupy Karabakh region of Azerbaijan since 1994.
From April through November 1993, the U.N. Security Council adopted four resolutions (822, 853, 874, 884) calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian forces and allowing the return of Azerbaijani refugees. Armenia has not complied and has been doing quite the opposite. Armenia is the only country in the region hosting Russian troops on its soil with arms directed at NATO bases.
Just like separatism in eastern Ukraine, Armenian separatism must be condemned and Armenian government pressured to abandon its annexation policies.
As an Azerbaijani-American, I call on the U.S. government to exert pressure on Armenian government, condemn its military occupation and cut military financial aid to Armenia.
Mahammad Hummatov,
Saco
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