Four soldiers were killed on February 13 as a result of shelling by the Azerbaijani armed forces of Armenian positions in the southern Syunik province, near the village of Nerkin Hand.

According to the Ministry of Defense, they are Eduard Harutyunyan (b. 1974), Gagik Manukyan (b. 1982), Arsen Hambarsdzumyan (b. 1979) and Hrachya Hovhannisyan (b. 1957). Another soldier was injured.

The wounded serviceman’s health condition is currently assessed as moderate, with no immediate threat to life.

The Foreign Ministry of Armenia issued the following statement: “On February 13, another provocation and use of force by the Azerbaijani armed forces in the area of Nerkin Hand of Kapan Municipality, Syunik region, resulted in casualties of 4 killed and 1 wounded. Despite the statement of the competent authorities of the Republic of Armenia on February 12 stating that the footage published by the Azerbaijani media on the same day and the information that the border guards of the Republic of Armenia wounded an Azerbaijani serviceman in the Kapan area are being investigated, the Azerbaijani side carried out aggressive actions on the morning of February 13. This indicates that Azerbaijan is looking for pretexts for escalation on the border.

“These actions of use of force were preceded by bellicose statements by the military and political leadership of Azerbaijan, as well as information and propaganda preparatory work in recent days. The leadership of Azerbaijan is constantly trying to disrupt the efforts of actors interested in stability and security in the South Caucasus to resume negotiations aimed at the normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations.

“We strongly condemn these actions of Azerbaijan resorting to military provocations, we call to refrain from steps that destabilize the situation and return to negotiations. Once again, we reaffirm the proposals previously voiced by the Armenian side to implement reliable measures aimed at increasing border security.”

Azerbaijan confirmed that its troops deployed in the area opened fire early in the morning. Its State Border Service claimed to have destroyed an Armenian army post which fired at its positions and wounded one of its servicemen the previous evening.

For its part, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry accused Armenian forces of also violating the ceasefire at another section of the long border late on Monday. The Defense Ministry in Yerevan denied the “disinformation.”

Tuesday’s fighting was the most serious truce violation reported from the border in the last five months. The situation there was relatively calm amid growing fears that Azerbaijan will also invade Armenia after recapturing Nagorno-Karabakh in September.

Last month, the European Union twice warned Baku against taking such military action in response to renewed Azerbaijani demands for Yerevan to open an extraterritorial corridor to the Nakhichevan exclave.

Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan said, “As a result of the fire of the Azerbaijani armed forces in the direction of Nerkin Hand, the right to life, to live in a safe environment, to education and other fundamental rights of the civilian population were violated.”

The residents told the defender’s staff that the shots were clearly heard, as a result of which they were scared and in a state of uncertainty.Topics: Armenia Borders, Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia, Azerbaijani attacks on Armenia, Council of Europe, Soldiers killed, Syunik incursions
People: Kristina Kvien

MORE FROM ARMENIA & KARABAKH
POLITICAL STRATEGYTREATY OF ALEXANDROPOLInstead of a National Salvation Strategy Will They Create Another Ill-Renowned Treaty of Alexandropol?

“The HRD especially emphasizes that the actions of the Azerbaijani military represent a real threat from the viewpoint of ensuring the right to life and security of people, education, as well as other fundamental rights. The work of monitoring and collecting facts related to human rights continues in the Office of the Human Rights Defender,” reads the statement.

Calls for Restraint

Various leaders called for restraint in the situation.

Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejcinović Burić expressed her concerns.

“Concerned about reports of exchange of fire along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. Call on both sides to abstain from the use of force. Dialogue is the only way to lasting peace,” she posted on X on Tuesday.

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Moscow hopes the peace process will continue and denounced the incident.

“Such incidents do not contribute to the advancement of this process, the negotiation process, or the approaching moment of signing a peace treaty. But we hope that this process will continue,” he said.

“Of course, this is alarming news coming from the contact line. We urge both sides to show restraint and avoid in every possible way other actions that the other side may consider provocative. We will follow [the situation] very carefully.”

The U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, Kristina Kvien, expressed her condolences regarding the casualties caused by the shots fired by Azerbaijan towards the Armenian combat position.

“We express our deep condolences to the families of those killed on the border in Syunik province, and wish a speedy recovery to those wounded,” reads the condolence message posted on the US Embassy’s Facebook page both in Armenian and English.

(Stories from Panarmenian.net, Armenpress, news.am, Panorama.am, RFE/RL to compile this report.)