TIME TO PUNISH THE ENEMY
The purpose of the strategy of the Azerbaijani military and political leadership is to push down the morale and material resources of the Armenian side. But after a while it became clear that even the use of firearms of large caliber is ineffective. Last summer, the Azerbaijani side had drastically changed tactics, sending to the state border of the NKR special forces with professional contract soldiers and with their help undertook sabotage and scouting actions that led some experts to argue that the Karabakh conflict has entered a new stage – the stage of diversionary war.
Realizing that their subversive war can not ensure the implementation of the strategic objectives, the Azerbaijani authorities have once again changed their tactics, applying artillery for the first time since the establishment of the ceasefire. However, it did not bring them luck. Even in the conditions of unprecedented censorship, Azerbaijan failed to conceal from their people the fact of significant losses: only in August this year, the Azerbaijani army had more than 30 losses, and in 2013-2015 their total number was 283.
On 25 September, in addition to the Turkish artillery rocket stations “TR-107”, the Azerbaijanis used also howitzer artillery. They opened fire on the soldiers of Armenian troops, who were carrying out their daily service tasks at a distance of 5-6 km from the front line, and the day before settlements of Tavush region of Armenia were fired. As a result, 4 soldiers of the Defense Army were killed, and in Tavush region – 3 civilians.
Naturally, the Armenian response was not long in coming.
Only in the course of punitive actions, carried out in the direction of Akna, 14 Azerbaijani servicemen were killed, and the Armenian side, staying true to commitment to preserve the cease-fire, refrained from the use of stem artillery.
RA President Serzh Sargsyan said in his speech: “The law of the civilized world calls to put an end to the impunity of crimes against humanity… When we say that we are afraid of war, but are not afraid to fight – it is not empty words. Armenia, and when I speak of Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh is its integral part, is one of the most militarized areas of the planet… And for more than 20 years of forced cease-fire that by the will of the authorities of Baku was impossible to remake to peace, we are doing everything to avoid a new confrontation. And now we will do so, and it also includes punitive actions that the enemy did not think that his insolent behavior will get away with it.
We’ll make, just make the government of Azerbaijan to be accountable to their people for inflicting further suffering.”
It is clear that the actions of Azerbaijan in the region formed a new military-political situation, when the Armenian side, being interested in the preservation of the ceasefire and the continuation of the negotiating process for the settlement and a peaceful resolution of the conflict, is just forced by all possible means to prevent provocative actions of Azerbaijan.
Major SOUREN SARUMYAN
Editor-in-Chief
newspaper “Martik” (Warrior) of NKR AoD
