Heavy Fighting Continues In Karabakh



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Heavy Fighting Continues In Karabakh

RFE/RL - Armenia Report - 3/4/2016

Heavy fighting continued in and around Nagorno-Karabakh on Sunday,

with Karabakh Armenian forces saying that they went on the

counteroffensive and regained territory seized by the Azerbaijani army

the previous day.


Karabakh's Defense Army reported "fierce" clashes in the northeast of

Karabakh and the southernmost section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani

"line of contact," which is adjacent to Iran.


In a statement issued on Sunday morning, the army said its troops won

back a "tactically important" position near the northern village of

Talish. "The enemy was pushed back, suffering considerable losses," it

claimed. "Two soldiers from the Karabakh side were wounded during the

hostilities."
"Karabakh forces are also conducting successful operations at the

southern section of the frontline," the statement said, adding that

they destroyed three Azerbaijani tanks and one armored personnel

carrier there.


The Azerbaijani military confirmed later in the day that "Armenia

tried to regain positions lost by it" but claimed to have thwarted

those attempts. "The enemy also subjected settlements and other

civilian facilities near the line of contact to intensive shelling,"

it said.
It claimed to have destroyed as many as 10 Armenian tanks in the

process. The spokesman for the Karabakh army, Senor Hasratian, denied

that claim, saying that the Armenian side has lost only one tank and

destroyed 14 Azerbaijani tanks since the Azerbaijani army began its

offensive on Saturday morning.
Eighteen Armenian soldiers were reportedly killed and 35 others

wounded on Saturday. The Azerbaijani side has acknowledged 12 combat

deaths so far.
In another statement released early in the afternoon, the Defense

Ministry in Baku said the Azerbaijani army has decided to

"unilaterally suspend its counteroffensive and retaliatory measures

against the enemy." "If the Armed Forces of Armenia do not end their

provocative actions # the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan will resume

offensive operations using all weapons at their disposal," it said,

according to Haqqin.az.
Armenia's Defense Ministry swiftly dismissed the announcement as an

"information trick," while the Karabakh army called in

"disinformation" and "an imitation of ceasefire."
The army said that even after Baku's statement Azerbaijani troops

continued to shell not only Karabakh Armenian positions but also

civilians. In particular, it said, they fired on the northeastern

Karabakh town of Martakert from Grad multiple-launch rocket systems

and 152-milimeter howitzers.
Karabakh's Armenian-backed military made clear at the same time that

it is ready to "discuss" the proposed truce "in the context of the

restoration of the previous positions" of the two warring sides.
The military authorities in Stepanakert began reinforcing their

frontline troops on Saturday night by deploying heavy artillery and

calling up hundreds of reservists. Hundreds of other Armenians, most

of them veterans of the 1991-1994 war with Azerbaijan, reportedly

headed to the frontline from Armenia overnight.

Iran Wants `Immediate End' To Karabakh Clashes
Iran -- Iranian Defense Minister General Hossein Dehqan speaks to the

press in front of the "Fajr" (Dawn) observation satellite before it is

launched into orbit, February 2, 2015

Iran -- Iranian Defense Minister General Hossein Dehqan speaks to the

press in front of the "Fajr" (Dawn) observation satellite before it is

launched into orbit, February 2, 2015

03.04.2016

Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan phoned his Armenian and

Azerbaijani counterparts on Sunday to add Tehran's voice to

international concerns over the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh and

call for an "immediate end" to hostilities there.
According to Iranian news agencies, Dehqan said that the two sides

must "exercise restraint" and seek only a peaceful resolution of the

Karabakh conflict. No other details were reported.
The press offices of Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian and his

Azerbaijani counterpart Zakir Hasanov also gave few details of the

separate phone calls.
A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the

escalation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani dispute, saying that it is a

"source of deep concern" for the Islamic Republic. Hossein Jaberi

Ansari said the conflicting parties should avoid violence especially

now that the wider region is "witnessing destructive acts by extremist

groups."
"We urge Azerbaijan and Armenia to promptly cease clashes and use all

their might to restore tranquility and a peaceful settlement of

differences ... under the United Nations [auspices,]" added Ansari.


The Iranian official did not blame either side for the heavy fighting,

reflecting Tehran's cautious stance on the Karabakh conflict.


The fighting broke out on Saturday morning at several sections of the

Armenian-Azerbaijani "line of contact" around Karabakh, including an

area bordering Iran. Hostilities involving tanks and heavy artillery

reportedly continued there on Sunday.


Citing officials in Iran's northwestern East Azarbaiajan province, the

Fars news agency reported on Sunday that three mortar shells hit an

Iranian village close to the "line of contact." There was no word on

casualties or material damage caused by them.


The provincial vice-governor said the Armenian and Azerbaijani

militaries have assured Iranian border guards that they "will not

repeat such a mistake."
Erdogan Backs Baku, Blames Mediators For Karabakh Fighting
Turkey -- Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (L) and Turkish President

Recep Tayyip Erdogan hug after signing bilateral agreements following

the 5th Turkey-Azerbaijan High Level Strategic Cooperation Council

meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara,

Turkey -- Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (L) and Turkish President

Recep Tayyip Erdogan hug after signing bilateral agreements following

the 5th Turkey-Azerbaijan High Level Strategic Cooperation Council

meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara,


03.04.2016

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pledged to back Azerbaijan

"to the end" and held U.S., Russian and French mediators responsible

for the worst escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in over two

decades.
"We pray our Azerbaijani brothers will prevail in these clashes with

the least casualties," Erdogan's office quoted him on Sunday as

telling an Azerbaijani reporter during a visit to the United States.
"We will support Azerbaijan to the end," he said, according to the AFP

news agency.


Erdogan also hit out at the OSCE Minsk Group led by the U.S., Russia

and France. "If the Minsk Group had taken fair and decisive steps over

this, such incidents would not have happened," he charged. "However,

the weaknesses of the Minsk Group unfortunately led the situation to

this point."
Erdogan phoned Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev shortly after fierce

fighting broke out in and around Karabakh on Saturday morning. The

Turkish leader voiced solidarity with Baku and offered his condolences

in connection with Azerbaijani soldiers killed in action.


Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Defense Minister Ismet

Yilmaz had separate phone conversations with their Azerbaijani

counterparts.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry blamed Armenia when it officially reacted

to the hostilities along the "line of contact" around Karabakh. "For

about a quarter century, Armenia has been occupying one-fifth of

Azerbaijan's territory," it said in a statement. "Unless this

occupation comes to an end and Armenia abandons its aggressive stance,

unfortunately, the risk of experiencing similar clashes will

continue."
Official Yerevan angrily rejected the Turkish statements on

Sunday. "With such racist statements, Turkey is encouraging the

continuation of the [Azerbaijani] aggressor's actions against the

self-determined Nagorno-Karabakh Republic," Armenian Deputy Foreign

Minister Shavarsh Kocharian said.
"This fits into the logic of the current Turkish leadership's

policies, which have spread a wave of instability, terrorism and

bloodshed both inside and outside Turkey," Kocharian added in written

comments.


Successive Turkish governments have unconditionally and fully backed

Azerbaijan, a country with which Turkey shares close ethnic affinity,

throughout the Karabakh conflict. They have refused to establish

diplomatic relations with Armenia and open the Turkish-Armenian border

out of solidarity with their Turkic ally.
Turkey seemed ready to delink normalization of Turkish-Armenian

relations from the Karabakh conflict when it signed U.S.-brokered

agreements with Armenia in 2009. However, Erdogan subsequently made

Turkish ratification of the two protocols conditional on a Karabakh

settlement acceptable to Azerbaijan. The U.S. has repeatedly urged the

Turkish government to drop this precondition.


Reprinted on ANN/Groong with permission from RFE/RL

Copyright (c) 2016 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.

1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.www.rferl.org

Azerbaijani losses: 18 tanks, 3 infantry fighting vehicle, 2 helicopters, 6 UAVs, more than 300 casualties

ARMENPRESS – 4/4/2016

YEREVAN. The losses of the sides during the recent military actions in the line of contact of Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan are the following:

Adversary’s losses: 18 tanks, 3 battle vehicles, 1 military/engineering hardware, 2 helicopters, 6 UAVs, 1 MM-21 artillery system, more than 300 casualties. Number of wounded has yet to be clarified.

Nagorno Karabakh losses: 7 tanks, 20 casualties, 6 of whom officers and non-commissioned officers, 72 wounded, 8 of whom officers and non-commissioned officers. 4 casualties among civilians, 1 of them a child.

As “Armenpress” reports, this data was published by the Defense Army Operative Division head, Colonel Viktor Arstamyan during a press conference in the operative information center in Stepanakert. The Colonel stressed that the Defense Army forces are combat-ready and are able to carry out their military duty.

Regarding the territories, Viktor Arstamyan noted that the depth of the adversary’s penetration is 200-300 meters, and there are no settlements there. Currently 5 military positions are under the adversary’s control in the Kazakhlar-Nyuzger direction, and 3 positions in the Talish-Matakhi-Tapkatakoyunlu direction.

“On early morning of April 3, the adversary carried out new attacks in the Horadiz-Nyuzger direction by using armored vehicles. Defense Army units and civilian settlements in Martakert and Talish were bombarded. These attacks were suppressed. The battles in the Kazakhlar-Nyuzger and Tapkarakoyunlu-talish directions continued throughout the day. On the morning of April 4 the adversary carried out new attacks by using armored battle vehicles. The attacks were blocked. Battles continued throughout the day”, Viktor Arstamyan said.

He informed that the adversary for the first time fired the “TOS” heavy flamethrower system, which had no result. The adversary tried to use a UAV, which was destroyed by the Defense Army. The adversary is widely using UAV’s as reconnaissance striking machines. The Defense Army has destroyed some of them.

http://armenpress.am/eng/news/842199/azerbaijani-losses-18-tanks-3-infantry-fighting-vehicle-2-helicopters-6-uavs-more-than-300-casualties.html
Armenia has 20 casualties: 26 soldiers reported missing and 72 wounded

A1plus.am- 4/4/2016


Since April 2, the Armenian side has suffered 20 casualties in the course of clashes between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, a Karabakh official said in his Twitter.

Twenty-two servicemen have been wounded and another 26 are missing.

The Armenian side has lost 8 positions in the southern and northern directions of the Contact Line, as well as 7 tanks, Artak Beglaryan, Spokesman for the Karabakh government, tweeted.



The Armenian side estimates Azerbaijan’s casualties at about 300.
http://en.a1plus.am/1232457.html
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