Stepanakert: April aggression once again revealed Azerbaijan`s  far-reaching goals of disrupting peace process and resolving Karabakh  conflict by force

ArmInfo. On the night of 1-2 April 2016, in flagrant violation of the 1994 agreement on complete cessation of fire and military hostilities, the Azerbaijani armed  forces launched a full- scale offensive against the Republic of  Artsakh, using their entire offensive arsenal, including tanks and  armoured vehicles, heavy artillery and military aviation. This is  stated in the statement of the NKR MFA on the occasion of the 7th  anniversary of the April four-day war unleashed by Azerbaijan.

As the press service of the Artsakh Foreign Ministry reports, the  statement reads, in part: "The Azerbaijani military not only attacked  the forward positions of the Artsakh Defence Army, but also targeted  the border settlements, causing destruction, killing and seriously  injuring innocent civilians, including women and children. During the  April war, the Azerbaijani armed forces also committed atrocities and  war crimes such as brutal murder of Armenian prisoners of war and  civilians, beheadings and desecration of the bodies of the killed.  The perpetrators of these brutal crimes later received state awards  from the senior leadership of Azerbaijan, and their crimes were  glorified in the Azerbaijani society and presented as exemplary  behaviour.  

The April aggression once again revealed Azerbaijan's far-reaching  goals of disrupting the peace process and resolving the conflict by  force. Moreover, the impunity of Azerbaijan's criminal actions and  the international community's tolerance for non-implementation of its  obligations, in fact, prepared a fertile ground and created an  opportunity for new provocations and aggression of Azerbaijan against  Artsakh.  

As a result, just four years later, on 27 September 2020, with the  active support of Turkey and the involvement of international  terrorist groups, Azerbaijan unleashed a new large-scale war against  Artsakh, occupying and ethnically cleansing a significant part of the  territory of the Republic of Artsakh. Even today, in an environment  of complete impunity and indifference, Azerbaijan continues its  aggressive and terrorist policy towards the people of Artsakh,  keeping the 120,000 people of Artsakh under illegal blockade for  about 4 months, regularly violating the cease-fire regime established  on 9 November 2020 with the mediation of the Russian Federation,  targeting both the personnel of the Artsakh Defence Army and the  civilian population, occupying new territories and strategic heights,  disrupting the work of the infrastructures that provide the basic  living conditions of the people of Artsakh.  

The ongoing illegal actions of Azerbaijan against the people of  Artsakh demonstrate that the authorities of this country do not  intend to comply with their international obligations and are  pursuing a consistent policy of ethnic cleansing and occupation of  Artsakh.  

Once again, we call on the international community, and first of all,  the United Nations Security Council, to take immediate and effective  measures to prevent the policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide  carried out by Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh and, before  reaching a comprehensive settlement of the conflict, introduce  mechanisms and guarantees to ensure normal life activity in Artsakh.  In this context, we emphasise the importance of the international  recognition of the right to self-determination realised by the people  of Artsakh, which is a necessary prerequisite for ensuring their  rights, security and peaceful development," the NKR MFA concludes.