OIC condemns shelling of Azerbaijani village by Armenians

Baku, Azerbaijan, July 5 By Elmira Tariverdiyeva, Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend: The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemns any use of force and believes that any disputes should be settled through peaceful means, the organization told Trend, commenting on the recent military provocation of Armenia. “It therefore condemns shelling of the Azerbaijan village of Fuzuli region by the Armenian Armed Forces that caused the killing of innocent civilians,” the message said. “The OIC General Secretariat reiterates its long-standing position on the Armenian aggression against the Republic of Azerbaijan, and believes that the solution to the issue is full implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and withdrawal of all Armenian forces from the occupied Azerbaijan territories.” The OIC continues to support a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and believes that all efforts should be undertaken in order to prevent exacerbating the situation, reads the message. On July 4 at about 20:40 (GMT+4 hours), the Armenian armed forces again violated ceasefire and, using 82-mm and 120-mm mortars and grenade launchers, shelled Azerbaijani positions and territories where the civilian population lives, namely the Alkhanli village of the country’s Fuzuli district, thereby grossly violating the requirements of international law, the Azerbaijani defense ministry said earlier. As a result of this provocation, the residents of the village Sakhiba Guliyeva, 50, and Zakhra Guliyeva, 2, were killed. Servinaz Guliyeva, 52, who got wounded, was taken to the hospital and was operated on. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.