The Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire 134 times on various sections of the frontline over the past 24 hours using, in particular, 60mm and 82mm mortars and heavy machine guns, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.


According to it, the Armenian side shelled the Azerbaijani army positions located in populated localities and on the hills along the border between the two counties and in the areas adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh. "In accordance with the operational situation, the Azerbaijani armed forces carried out 135 fire attacks on enemy positions and trench lines," the ministry said.


The situation along the line of engagement of the conflicting parties in Nagorno-Karabakh deteriorated dramatically overnight to April 2. Following fierce armed clashes at the contact line, the parties to the conflict accused each other of violating the truce.


On April 5, Russia mediated a meeting between Colonel-General Najmeddin Sadykov, the chief of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces General Staff, and Colonel-General Yuri Khachaturov, the chief of the Armenian Armed Forces General Staff, that took place in Moscow. The two sides agreed to cease the hostilities on the line disengaging the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops in Nagorno-Karabakh. The defense ministries of Azerbaijan and Armenia announced a ceasefire on the contact line as of 12:00 (11:00 Moscow Time) the same day. Ever since, the parties occasionally report brief exchanges of fire along the contact line.

www.ann.az