Karabakh Armenians Deny Rocket Fire

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry claimed that the 122-milimeter caliber shell exploded near an Azerbaijani village northeast of Karabakh on Friday. “This blatant ceasefire violation by the Armenian armed forces will not lead to good consequences,” ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu told the Trend news agency.

A spokesman for the Karabakh Armenian army, Senor Hasratian, dismissed the claim as “yet another Azerbaijani provocation.”

In a written statement, Hasratian said the Azerbaijani military is trying to dodge responsibility for what he said was a fire at one of its ammunitions depots located close to the Armenian-Azerbaijani “line of contact.” He said a reconnaissance unit of the Karabakh army witnessed explosions caused by the fire.

While ceasefire violations along this and other sections of the fortified frontline are common, they usually involve small arms. The warring sides are not known to have used heavy artillery in skirmishes since a 1994 Russian-mediated truce agreement.