Malaysian Bernama agency: Armenian military provocation violates international humanitarian law

Kuala Lumpur, July 13, AZERTAC The Malaysian Bernama news agency has published an article on the killing of the Azerbaijani citizens in Alkhanli village of Fuzuli district, as a result of the Armenian military units' shelling the peaceful civilians using mortars and heavy grenade launchers. Headlined "Armenian military provocation violates international humanitarian law", the article highlights the statements by spokesman of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Hikmat Hajiyev and the country's Ombudsperson Elmira Suleymanova. The article says: "Armenia's direct and deliberate attacks on the Azerbaijani civilian population and objects, the latest on July 4, constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian and human rights law, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Hikmat Hajiyev, said. "He stressed that the Armenian armed forces`s attack against civilians contravened the 1949 Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol namely the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Reports said that during the July 4 incident the Armenian armed forces again violated a ceasefire and, using 82mm and 120mm mortars and grenade launchers, shelled Azerbaijani positions and territories where the civilian population live, namely the Alkhanli village of the country's Fuzuli district, thus grossly violating the requirements of international law." "As a result of this provocation, residents of the village, Allahverdiyeva Sahiba 50, and her two-year old granddaughter Guliyeva Zahra were killed while another civilian Guliyeva Sarvinaz, 52, was seriously injured and taken to the hospital where she had to undergo an operation, Hajiyev said in a statement made available to Bernama by the Azerbaijan embassy here," the article says. "According to Hajiyev, Armenia has been conducting systematic, deliberate and targeted attacks on civilian population, including women, children and the elderly people residing in the densely populated areas adjacent to the frontline. Azerbaijan has repeatedly brought to the attention of the international community that the primary reason of the tension and incidents in the frontline and major impediment to the resolution of the conflict is the unlawful presence of the armed forces of Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan," the article says. "According to reports the conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts." “A 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts." "Hajiyev also said that the lack of response from Armenia's political-military leadership to calls by OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs and international organisations to re-engage in substantive talks to resolve the conflict, once again demonstrated the necessity for the co-chairs to demand from Armenia to withdraw its troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan in accordance with the principles of international law and relevant resolutions of the international organisations. The responsibility for the current situation completely falls on the political-military leadership of Armenia." "Meanwhile, Human Rights Commissioner of Azerbaijan, Elmira Suleymanova, hoped justice and peace will be established soon," the article says. "The violent crimes committed by the perpetrators' won't go unpunished, she said in her statement addressed to the United Nations Secretary-General, UN Security Council, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) among others." "According to Elmira Suleymanova, as a consequence of the long-lasting aggression started and regularly continued by Armenia since 1988, the Nagorno-Karabakh territories of Azerbaijan and adjacent seven districts, a total of 20 per cent of the native territories were occupied and over one million of its nationals were expelled from Armenia and have become refugees." "She also pointed out the intense fighting on April 2-5 last year in Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani land occupied by Armenia back in 1990s, saying that the Armenian armed forces had abruptly started intensive shootings from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, as well as from the territory of Armenia aimed at Azerbaijan's territories where there are numerous dwellings, schools and other social entities along the frontline. As a result, civilians, including children, women and elderly people were killed and severely injured during the fight dubbed the 'four-day war'." "Suleymanova reiterated her call to the world and influential international organisations to protect and promote human rights and jointly strive to end the 'long-lasting' Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan," the article concludes.