There was a clash between the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides in the NKR. Representatives of Karabakh and Azerbaijan report about the dead and wounded. Armenia has not yet commented on the incident.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported that Armenian representatives opened fire when the Azerbaijani military wanted to check their cars on the Khankendi-Khalfali-Tursu road. The Azerbaijani side assumed that Armenia would use it to transport weapons and personnel "to Azerbaijani territories, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent is temporarily stationed." The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry emphasizes that this violates the provisions of the Tripartite Statement of November 10, 2020. The ministry placed all responsibility for the aggravation of the situation in the region on Armenia.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Karabakh also made a statement about the incident. It says that three police officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Artsakh were killed and one was injured “as a result of an attack by a sabotage group of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces” on a duty car. In addition, the department emphasizes that there were no weapons in the car, except for the service weapons of the police.
Karabakh has been under blockade since mid-December due to the Lachin corridor blocked by activists brought by the Azerbaijani authorities. This is the only road that connects the NKR with Armenia. A humanitarian catastrophe has begun in the republic: the authorities report regular cuts of gas and electricity, and a rationing system has been introduced due to a shortage of essential goods.
