Fighting continues on Armenia-Azerbaijan front-line

BAKU, Azerbaijan

Heavy fighting was reported on the Armenian-Azerbaijani front-line throughout the night, according to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry on early Tuesday.

In a statement, the ministry said that the Armenian forces attempted to take back the positions they lost in the Fuzuli-Jabrayil and Agdere-Terter border regions.
However, retaliatory firing from the Azerbaijani troops foiled their attempt, according to the statement.

Azerbaijani jets and troops destroyed a convoy of Armenian armored vehicles setting off from the Madagiz village, the statement added.

Also, Azerbaijani soldiers destroyed an Armenian tank and vehicle near Fuzuli-Jabrayil, and neutralized 10 soldiers, the ministry said.

An operation to clear the city of Fuzuli from Armenian troops is ongoing and four Armenian tanks were destroyed this morning, the ministry said in a separate statement.

Armenian army also shelled Azerbaijan's western city of Dashkesen. The Azerbaijani side will respond with equal force, according to a statement.

In its latest statement, the ministry said the Azerbaijani army destroyed the motorized infantry regiment of the Armenian army.

Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Vagif Dergahli said that the regiment, which was deployed in the Khojavend region occupied by the Armenian forces, was destroyed.

Border clashes broke out early Sunday when Armenian forces targeted Azerbaijani civilian settlements and military positions, leading to casualties.

Since then, tensions have continued to escalate with Turkey firmly standing with Azerbaijan.

The EU, Russia and NATO, among others, have urged an immediate halt to clashes along the frontier.

Relations between the two former Soviet nations have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh, or Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.

Four UN Security Council and two UN General Assembly resolutions demand the withdrawal of the occupying forces.

The 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 upon in 1994.