On 5 March, at about 10:00 am, a sabotage group of the Azerbaijani armed forces crossed the line of contact and attacked a vehicle of the Passport and Visa Department of the Police of the Republic of Artsakh. As a result of this attack, three police officers were killed and another was wounded. A preliminary analysis of the circumstances of the killing of police officers allows to regard the actions of the Azerbaijani side as a war crime.
The infiltration of the Azerbaijani sabotage group into the territory of Artsakh and the attack on Artsakh police officers is another flagrant violation of the Trilateral Statement of 9 November 2020, which indicates that the Azerbaijani side is seeking to initiate an escalation of tension. Earlier, on 2 and on the night of 2 to 3 March, units of the Azerbaijani armed forces stationed in the occupied territories of the Askeran, Martakert and Martuni regions of the Republic of Artsakh also violated the ceasefire established by the Trilateral Statement of 9 November 2020.
It should be noted that these attacks were carried out immediately after the talks on unblocking the Lachin Corridor held between representatives of Artsakh and Azerbaijan on 1 March. Through its actions, Baku openly demonstrates its rejection of negotiations as a means of finding solutions to any issues.
Against the background of the more than 80-day blockade of Artsakh, aimed at deliberately creating unbearable living conditions for its people, a serious escalation of the situation, resulting in casualties, once again demonstrates the true objectives of Azerbaijan and its intention to complete the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh. Apparently, the lack of adequate measures on the part of the international community aimed at stopping the internationally wrongful acts of Azerbaijan was perceived by the authorities of this country as a carte blanche to commit new atrocities.
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We once again call on the international community as a whole and the parties involved in the settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict in particular to reconsider their approaches and take effective measures under international law to stop the terrorist and genocidal policy of Azerbaijan.
