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BAKU: Azeri Defence Ministry Raps Armenia For Truce Breach, Pledges

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  • BAKU: Azeri Defence Ministry Raps Armenia For Truce Breach, Pledges

    AZERI DEFENCE MINISTRY RAPS ARMENIA FOR TRUCE BREACH, PLEDGES PROPER REPULSE

    Ekho
    March 6 2008
    Azerbaijan

    The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry has blamed Armenia for resorting to
    truce violation in order to divert attention from "rigged presidential
    election", Ekho newspaper has said. In a press statement, the
    ministry said that Armenia's attacks were repulsed fittingly and the
    Azerbaijani army inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy forces. Troops
    and military hardware concentration were also reported in Tartar and
    Goranboy fronts, the press release said, adding that any provocation
    would be met properly. The following is the text of B. Safarov report
    by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho on 6 March headlined "Armenians asked
    for mercy" and subheaded "By appealing to the Azerbaijani Defence
    Ministry leadership and international organizations with a cease-fire
    request"; subheadings have been inserted editorially:

    The Armenian military leadership, having found itself deadlocked, has
    asked the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry and international organizations
    for an immediate cease-fire, an official report from the press service
    of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry said in connection with the
    latest events on the contact line of firing (Novosti-Azerbaijan). Let
    us remind that throughout 4 March until one o'clock on the night
    of 5 March, the Armenian armed forces staged another provocation
    by assuming the offensive in the Tartar and Goranboy fronts. Four
    Azerbaijani troops died in the fierce battle.

    The Armenian side sustained 12 losses with 15 wounded.

    "What happened on the front line on 4 March and fitting rebuffs by
    the Azerbaijani army against the military offensives of the enemy
    served another proof that the enemy will not manage to apply force
    against our army. The level of combat readiness of the Azerbaijani
    national army is at the highest level," the document said.

    Tension runs high in Armenia

    The report said that heavy losses of the Armenian army caused a new
    round of tension in Armenia. "Armenia is engaged in circulation of
    misinformation and the cause of this is obvious. Trying to divert
    attention of the world community from the rigged presidential
    election and ensuing civil confrontation at home, the enemy resorted
    to provocation, but, as obvious, it did not achieve anything as a
    result," the press release of the Defence Ministry said.

    However, the Armenian president denies that Armenian troops
    were killed. At a news conference yesterday, Robert Kocharyan
    told journalists that "the Armenian side sustained no losses, an
    officer was wounded in the hand and another servicemen was hurt on
    an anti-personnel mine" (Novosti-Armenia). Kocharyan also added that
    "the defence ministries established direct contacts as a result of
    which an agreement on a cease-fire was reached".

    Simultaneously, Kocharyan complained that "the Karabakh defence
    forces" came under mortar and artillery strikes. In the meantime, the
    Azerbaijani Defence Ministry notes that by trying to hush up the actual
    picture of own losses, the Armenian side is feeding the media with
    wrong information, "and this is not the first time when the Armenian
    authorities try to keep silent about own losses" (Novosti-Azerbaijan).

    "By launching an offensive, the enemy had to foreseen in advance heavy
    losses in own ranks as the principle of waging combat operations is
    that the attacker incurs heavier losses as compared with the defender,"
    the official press release of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry said. In
    the meantime, the Armenian armed formations are drawing up large amount
    of military hardware in the Tartar direction of the front (1news.az).

    Apart from this, Armenia is also concentrating troops on the front line
    in Tartar and Goranboy directions. It is visible from the Azerbaijani
    side that Armenians started to feverishly reinforce their positions on
    the occupied territories. A regional correspondent of 1news.az reports
    that a relative calm is being observed along the whole perimeter of
    the front, no firing of the positions of the Azerbaijani national
    army was registered.

    Monitoring to shed light on cease-fire breach

    "A monitoring on the Karabakh front line will be conducted in a
    day or two in connection with the aggravation of the situation in
    the front line and the clashes between the Armenian and Azerbaijani
    armed forces," Russian ambassador to Azerbaijani Vasiliy Istratov
    said at the press centre of Novosti yesterday. The monitoring will
    be conducted by experts and specialists of the OSCE from the both
    sides of the front line and after this an official opinion would be
    concluded and a report would be drawn up to shed light on causes and
    consequences of the clashes which were incomparable for intensity
    over the several years of the cease-fire regime, Istratov said.

    For his part, Azerbaijani general consul in Los Angels Elin Suleymanov
    considers that "the attempts of the Armenian authorities to divert
    attention from the political crisis in Yerevan were predictable"
    (Day.az). "The Azerbaijani side from the onset did not want to
    interfere in Armenia's domestic affairs despite the provocation of the
    Armenian authorities who first opened polling stations on our territory
    and now resorted to military confrontation against our armed forces.

    "As is known, Armenians protested against the results of the latest [19
    February presidential] election outside the Armenian Consulate General
    in Los Angels. That is to say, even among the Diaspora understanding
    is gaining ground that the Yerevan regime's approach has no prospects.

    "Apparently, having realized this and applying a series of other
    methods, the Armenian authorities decided that by only going to
    provocation on the front line, they can retain power in Yerevan.

    Enforcing censorship in the Internet and stepping up propaganda,
    the Yerevan regime wants again to use the nationalist hysteria for
    strengthening its shaky positions."
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