BAKU, Azerbaijan

The Azerbaijani army has shot down another unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of Armenia over the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, the country’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

“On October 22, in the morning hours, the units of the Azerbaijan Army destroyed a tactical UAV of the Armenian armed forces attempting to carry out a flight in the direction of the Sadarak and Sharur regions of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Azerbaijani forces have shot down seven Armenian drones since Tuesday, according to the Defense Ministry.

In less than two weeks, Armenia has violated two humanitarian cease-fires in Upper Karabakh, or Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.

A new humanitarian cease-fire entered into force last Saturday.

Four UN Security Council resolutions and two from the UN General Assembly, as well as international organizations, demand the “immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the occupying forces” from occupied Azerbaijani territory.

In total, about 20% of Azerbaijan's territory – including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions – has been under illegal Armenian occupation for nearly three decades.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group – co-chaired by France, Russia, and the US – was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail. A cease-fire, however, was agreed to in 1994.

World powers, including Russia, France, and the US, have called for a new cease-fire. Turkey, meanwhile, has supported Baku's right to self-defense and demanded the withdrawal of Armenia's occupying forces.

* Writing by Sena Guler