Residents of the Khoznavar village in Armenia’s Syunik Province reported more gunfire by Azerbaijani forces targeting their village.
Armenia’s Defense Ministry announced on Monday that a residence in the nearby Khnkatsakh village was damaged after Azerbaijani forces fired weapons. No injuries were reported. However, the ministry did not make a statement regarding fresh reports of gunfire continuing by Azerbaijani forces.
Vahan Zakyan, a resident of Khoznavar village, told News.am that on Monday night his village again was a target of Azerbaijani gunfire.
“It was 10:20. Shots were fired several times. The village was not affected by the shooting. The situation is not tense,” Zakyan told News.am on Tuesday.
For the past week, Azerbaijan’s defense ministry has accused Armenia of a massive buildup of forces along the border. Yerevan has denied those accusations.
Armenia’s Defense Ministry last week also stated that it does not issue statements on sporadic gunfire when positions in Armenia are not directly targeted.
However, residents of Khnkatsakh and Khoznavar villages in the Syunik province have reported sporadic gunfire toward their settlements, despite assurances from the defense officials.
In its latest statement on Tuesday, the Defense Ministry, once again, refuted reports from its Azerbaijani counterpart, which alleged that Armenian forces fired on Azerbaijani combat positions in the eastern and southeastern sections of the border.
“It is important to note that the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia has proposed the establishment of a joint Armenia-Azerbaijan mechanism for investigating ceasefire violations and related reports. However, Azerbaijan has yet to respond to this initiative,” Armenia’s defense ministry said.
“The Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Armenia reaffirms that, in accordance with the position of the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, it stands ready to investigate the facts supporting the statement issued by the Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan, should they be provided to the Republic of Armenia,” the statement added.
