Mehmood Ul Hasan Khan
Armenia, the illegal occupant of 25 percent territory of Azerbaijan has once again gone mad. On July 4, Armenian armed forces started deliberate attacking on civilians and civilian objects of the Alkhanli village of Fizuli region of Azerbaijan by opening fire 82 and 120 mm mortars and heavy grenade launchers. In its heavy shelling and discriminating firing Guliyeva Sahiba (born in 1967) and her 2 years old granddaughter Guliyeva Zahra were killed. Another civilian Guliyeva Sarvinaz (born in 1965) was serious wounded and civilian objects sustained damages. It has once aging reaffirmed Armenia’s constant use of naked power against helpless Azerbaijanis.
It is an act against humanity, a serious violation of international law and an act of criminality against local people. Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry spokesman has conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the families and relatives of victims and wish speedy recovery to wounded.
Armenia had has been indulged in these notorious provocations since long. As a result of these provocations of armed forces of Armenia, killing of elderly woman and her 2 years old granddaughter and wounding of another civilian and damaging of civilian objects is nothing other than the act of vandalism and once again proves the terrorist nature of the state of Armenia.
According to Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry, Armenia has been conducting systematic, deliberate and targeted attacks on civilian population encompassing inter alia women, children and elderly residing in the densely populated areas adjacent to the front-line.
Moreover, Armenia’s direct and deliberate attacks against the Azerbaijani civilian population and civilian objects, constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian and human rights law, in particular the 1949 Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol I thereto, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, spokesman of Azerbaijan foreign ministry added.
After the visit of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to the region, when Co-Chairs and the international organizations call for changing the status quo of occupation by substantive and serious negotiations, Armenia resorts to base and nefarious provocations aimed at deliberate and targeted killing of civilians, including children.
Azerbaijan has repeatedly brought to the attention of the international community that the primary reason of the tension and incidents in the front-line and major impediment to the resolution of the conflict is the unlawful presence of the armed forces of Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
Response of Armenia’s political-military leadership to the calls of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the international organizations to re-engage in substantive talks for resolution of the conflict by brutal killing and wounding of civilians once again demonstrates the necessity that the Co-Chairs must demand from Armenia to withdraw its troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan in accordance with the norms and principles of international law and relevant decisions and resolutions of the international organizations and change the status quo of occupation.
The responsibility for the current situation completely falls on the political-military leadership of Armenia.
The Republic of Azerbaijan and its people are fully committed under the strategic leadership of H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev to liberate all the occupied areas under Armenian occupation. Azerbaijan has proven socio-economic superiority and military might as compare to Armenia so these nefarious provocations could not achieve nothing but further widespread condemnation and political isolation.
A series of horrible incidents of “Black January” and unresolved issue of “Nagorno-Karabakh conflict” is still the reminder of Armenia’s brutal aggression against helpless Azerbaijanis living in occupied areas.