War lurks again in Nagorno Karabakh. Azerbaijani Bayraktar TB2 drones attack Armenian fortified positions as part of operation Qisas (Vengance).
According to the Azerbaijani Government press release, the drone attacks on Armenian positions are in response to incursions of Armenian armed groups into Azeri territory.
On August 3, members of Armenian armed groups of the Artsakh Defense Army reportedly penetrated into the territory of Azerbaijan, where the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation is temporarily located, violating the provisions of the Ceasefire Declaration of November 9, 2020 and committed an act of sabotage against units of the Azerbaijani army, where an Azerbaijani serviceman was reportedly killed.
In addition, elements of the Armenian armed groups reportedly tried to seize the Kyrghgiz hill, located in the mountain range covering the territory of the Kalbajar and Lachin regions, and establish new fighting positions there.
As a result of this situation, the military command in Baku launched the retaliatory operation «Qisas» (Vengance), whereby Turkish-designed Bayraktar TB2 drones (used with great success by Azerbaijan in the past and by Ukraine at present) were used to attack fortified positions and destroy Armenian war material.
Official video of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani army forces have reportedly managed to seize several important hills and heights along the Karabakh chain of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range from the Artsakh Defense Army. Currently, Azerbaijani divisions are reportedly engaged in engineering work on the construction of new posts and construction of supply routes.
According to the press release, several fighting positions of Armenian armed elements were destroyed and an air strike was carried out against the military unit in the settlement of Yukhari Oratag in the former region of Aghdara. As a result, several Armenian military personnel were reportedly killed or wounded, and several D-30 howitzers, military vehicles and a large amount of ammunition were reportedly destroyed.
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The Republic of Azerbaijan asserts that these Armenian military forces and armed groups (the Artsakh Defense Army) are illegal and are deployed close to where the peacekeeping forces of the Russian Federation operate.
Moreover, Azerbaijan promises «dreadful» countermeasures in retaliation for any violent acts against the territory it considers sovereign.
Armenian version
Armenia also issued a statement, in which it accuses Azerbaijan of having initiated hostilities, violating the ceasefire regime.
According to this version, Azeri forces had launched at least two unprovoked attacks on positions of the Artsakh Defense Army (Artsakh is the Armenian name for Nagorno Karabakh) at 9am and 3pm (local time), using drones and grenade launchers. Two Armenian soldiers were killed and 15 others were wounded.
