President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan convenes extraordinary meeting of the National Security Council. He says at the moment the Armenian side has 18 casualties, nearly 35 soldiers have been wounded. President says Armenia should sign agreement on mutual military assistance with Karabakh.
After pondering for a long time, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense formally accepted the first casualties announcing that 12 soldiers were killed. At present, however, Baku has admitted to the downing of solely one of its military helicopters and the destruction of just one of its tanks. In the meantime, the Nagorno-Karabakh defense army informs that the Armenian armed forces have destroyed three tanks and downed two military helicopters and two drones of the adversary.
The two Armenian boys, were wounded in the Azerbaijani shelling of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlements from late Friday night through Saturday morning, are in critical but stable condition. 11-year-old Gevorg Grigoryan and 12-year-old Vardan Andreasyan are in the intensive care unit at the children’s hospital in Stepanakert. Twelve-year-old Vaghinak Grigoryan, however, had died in this shelling.
The situation remains tense along the Karabakh-Azerbaijan Line of Contact, and the battles continue.
The international community continues reacting to the unprecedented attacks which Azerbaijan has unleashed. The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs have issued a statement strongly condemning the use of force, and they called upon the sides to stop shooting and take all necessary measures to stabilize the situation on the ground.
The EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini likewise issued a statement on the escalation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. She called on the parties to stop the fighting immediately and observe the ceasefire.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian, had a telephonic conversation with his Russian colleague, Sergei Lavrov, and they discussed the current situation. In addition, Lavrov called on the parties to take actions toward stopping the violence in Nagorno-Karabakh.
To remind, Azerbaijan launched outright offensive military actions along the Line of Contact between the Karabakh-Azerbaijani opposing forces, from late Friday night through Saturday morning, and using a variety of weaponry as well as artillery, armored vehicles, and air force. Not only the defensive positions of the Armenian armed forces, but also peaceful settlements were subjected to missile and artillery attacks.
Source: news.am
We stand with @Karabakh_MoD #Karabakh #NKpeace against Terrorist State of #Azerbaijan Aggression. pic.twitter.com/KeuaRdAjtp
— Wally Sarkeesian (@gagrulenet) April 2, 2016