AZERBAIJAN BUILDS A GREAT WALL OF KARABAKH
by Giorgi Lomsadze
EurasiaNet.org, NY
Oct 13 2011
The notion of a breakthrough in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict soon
could have quite a literal meaning. Azerbaijan is now busy walling
itself off from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.
The three-meter-tall wall will stretch three kilometers across the
conflict line to shield nearby Azerbaijani-controlled villages from
sniper bullets. The wall starts in Ortagervend, a village where an
eight-year-old boy was shot to death six months ago.
The chronic sniper exchange between the Azerbaijani army and separatist
Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian forces has often turned deadly and
threatened the return of all-out hostilities in the area.
Azerbaijani authorities said that the sniper fire is driving the
civilian population away from the villages.
In a rare sign of approval of an Azerbaijani initiative, separatist
officials welcomed construction of the wall as a way to solidify the
border of the disputed enclave.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/64311
by Giorgi Lomsadze
EurasiaNet.org, NY
Oct 13 2011
The notion of a breakthrough in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict soon
could have quite a literal meaning. Azerbaijan is now busy walling
itself off from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.
The three-meter-tall wall will stretch three kilometers across the
conflict line to shield nearby Azerbaijani-controlled villages from
sniper bullets. The wall starts in Ortagervend, a village where an
eight-year-old boy was shot to death six months ago.
The chronic sniper exchange between the Azerbaijani army and separatist
Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian forces has often turned deadly and
threatened the return of all-out hostilities in the area.
Azerbaijani authorities said that the sniper fire is driving the
civilian population away from the villages.
In a rare sign of approval of an Azerbaijani initiative, separatist
officials welcomed construction of the wall as a way to solidify the
border of the disputed enclave.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/64311