Further Reports
There has been a significant uptick in reports of fire being exchanged on the Armenia/Azerbaijan border, with both sides having claimed to have been fired upon multiple times over April 5th and April 6th.
The clashes mark yet more ceasefire violations on the historically volatile border that had been comparatively quiet for several months. Clashes had earlier occurred on April 2nd, and again in mid-February, after months without any such clashes.
The clashes also took place as (and following) Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was meeting with US and EU officials in Brussels, Belgium.
It is worth noting that neither side has reported any casualties from any of the clashes across the past two days.
Azeri Claims
Azerbaijan claims that they spotted Armenian forces preparing “to conduct work for the purpose of engineering improvement of a trench in front of the Azerbaijan Army positions,” further adding that “the conducted work was immediately stopped as a result of the urgent measures taken by the Azerbaijan Army Units.” They claimed the incident regarding the “engineering improvement” took place from 3:10 to 5:35 local time. They did not specify exactly what they meant by the “urgent measures” taken by Azerbaijan to halt the alleged engineering work, and if this means they fired upon Armenian units during this time.
They further added in the same statement a claim that Armenian units fired upon their positions, in a different area, at 5:25 local time using small arms fire. They reported no casualties from this incident.
Azerbaijan later on the morning of April 6th released a statement providing further claims of continuing fire from Armenian forces in varying areas of the border late into the night of the 5th. Their statement ends by saying that Azeri troops have been “subjected to fire at a total of 30 times” across the last day. The statement from Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defence reported fire from five different areas on the Armenian side.
Armenian Claims
Armenia counteracted Azerbaijan’s claims, claiming the statement “issued by the Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan claiming that on April 5th, at approximately 5:25 p.m., units of the Armenian Armed Forces fired in the direction of Azerbaijani positions located in the northeastern part of the border, is another disinformation.” They also claimed that Azeri troops fired upon their positions in the evening of April 5th in two separate locations.
In a later statement, Armenia claimed that fire from Azerbaijan resumed later into the night and carried over in some locations into the morning of April 6th. The statement from the Ministry of Defence reported fire from Azeri forces in six different locations.
Armenia further states that “assessing the situation, the units of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia refrained from actions that could contribute to further escalation, leading to the calming of the situation along the border.”
They additionally renewed accusations that Azerbaijan was attempting to spread misinformation, claiming they have “observed an increase in the dissemination of disinformation by the Azerbaijani press regarding Armenian media in recent days.”
According to Politico, Armenia made claims to the EU and the US prior to the tripartite meeting held between the three in Brussels that Azerbaijan was accumulating mass amounts of military equipment. The claim says that Azerbaijan has been receiving “on average, more than one arms shipment per day since the start of the year,” largely from Israel and Pakistan. Over the past several years, Israel has become Azerbaijan’s top military provider.
The reported claims of an Azeri military buildup come just a week after Azerbaijan claimed that Armenia was amassing military forces, heavy equipment, and constructing further fortifications in proximity to the border. Notably, the EU civilian monitoring mission in Armenia investigated the Azeri claims, patrolling the areas in question, and reported no unusual activity.
