Azerbaijani soldier injured by cross-border fire from Armenia, says Baku

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) — Azerbaijan on Monday said one of its soldiers was injured due to shots fired by Armenian forces toward the country's southwestern Zangilan district.

A statement by Azerbaijan’s State Border Service said shots were fired from an Armenian military position toward its troops in the village of Kollugishlaq at around 1.37 p.m. local time (0937GMT).

The statement said a soldier was injured, adding that he was evacuated by helicopter to a specialized medical facility.

It added that the incident was captured by surveillance cameras in the area and that the current situation is stable and under control.

"The responsibility for this next provocation of the Armenian side falls entirely on the military and political leadership of Armenia," it added.

Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions, including Zangilan.

Azerbaijan liberated most of the region during the war in the fall of 2020, which ended with a Russian-brokered peace agreement, opening the door to normalization.

The Azerbaijani army initiated an anti-terrorism operation in Karabakh last September to establish constitutional order, after which illegal separatist forces in the region surrendered.