YEREVAN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th July, 2020) The Azerbaijani armed forces have used BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers during the recent border clashes with Armenia, Artsrun Hovhannisyan, a representative for the Armenian Ministry of Defense, said on Tuesday.
"Tanks are not the largest weapons they [Azerbaijan] have used. If they have used howitzers and the Grad multiple rocket launcher systems, then tanks are not the largest weapons they have used. Yes, Grad systems were used," Hovhannisyan said at a press briefing.
Despite these claims, the ministry representative said that there is currently a relative calm on the border between the two countries after violent clashes erupted on Sunday.
"At the moment, the operational situation is relatively calm. This has been established since 06:00 p.m. [14:00 GMT]. There is little shelling, especially not from large-caliber weapons. Consequently, the tension has decreased," Hovhannisyan commented.
Clashes broke out in the border area that separates Armenia's Tavush province and the Azerbaijani region of Tovuz on Sunday and have continued into their third day. Baku and Yerevan have accused one another of provoking the conflict, which is taking place a reasonable distance away from the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, where the two sides have waged war for decades.
A total of 11 Azerbaijani troops have so far died during the violence, according to reports from Baku. On the other side, four Armenian servicemen have lost their lives in the recent escalation.
