BAKU/YEREVAN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th July, 2020) The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense on Monday has accused the Armenian military of using D-30 howitzer guns during an attack on the border village of Dondar Gushchu in the region of Tovuz, although officials in Yerevan have denied the claims, saying that they never fire at civilian targets.
"The Armenian armed forces shelled the village of Dondar Gushchu, Tovuz region using D-30 howitzers. Villagers suffered no damages. Our troops will take strong countermeasures against this provocation," Ministry of Defense spokesman Col. Vagif Dargyakhly told Sputnik.
The spokesman also denied accusations from Yerevan that Azerbaijani troops shelled a village on the Armenian side of the border.
"This information is not true. The Azerbaijani side does not fire at civilians or civilian settlements," Dargyakhly remarked.
Shushan Stepanyan, a representative of the Armenian Ministry of Defense, has denied all the accusations that the country's armed forces opened fire at civilian targets and accused the Azerbaijani military of placing equipment near civilian settlements.
Stepanyan on Monday said that Azerbaijani troops had resumed shelling Armenian positions after clashes broke out the day before along the contact line between Armenia's Tavush province and the Azerbaijani region of Tovuz.
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense has reported four casualties among its troops as a result of the most recent clashes. Officials in Yerevan have said that several people on the Armenian side suffered injuries during the violence.
The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group on Monday condemned the clashes and urged both Baku and Yerevan to refrain from further escalation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has also called for an immediate ceasefire.
