Two Armenian Servicemen Killed by Azerbaijani Fire on April 26

STEPANAKERT, NKR (A.W.)—Armenian servicemen Tigran Poghosyan (b. 1992) and Aram Arushanyan (b. 1972) were killed by Azerbaijani fire on the Nagorno-Karabagh Republic (NKR/Artsakh) Line of Contact (LoC) on April 26, according to a press statement released by the NKR Ministry of Defense (MoD).

The MoD announced that Azerbaijani Armed Forces violated the ceasefire agreement more than 80 times, firing various caliber weapons on Armenian positions along the LoC on the night of April 25-26. Azerbaijani forces fired at least 26 60-mm mortars, 75 82-mm mortars, and 3 grenades from an AGS-17 grenade launcher, and several other shots from different caliber weaponry.

According to the press statement, Azerbaijani forces also fired 14 MM-21 (Grad) missiles at the town of Martakert and 8 artillery shells in the direction of the village of Mataghis.

In order to neutralize the Azerbaijani aggression, the NKR Armed Forces resorted to preventive steps, “delivering targeted strikes against its advanced positions—causing losses of personnel and military equipment,” the MoD statement read.

Meanwhile, on April 25, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hosted a dinner in honor of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Baku. The Turkish president is in Baku to attend the 7th Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations. According to Erdogan’s official website, the two heads of state “stressed” the notion of “One nation, two states” in their discussion of cooperation in the field of energy.

On April 21, Armenian serviceman Marat Danielyan (b. 1984) was killed in an Azerbaijani attack on the northern direction (Talish) of the LoC at approximately 6:30 a.m.

Source: Armenian Weekly Mid-West