Two neighboring villages, Khnatsakh and Khoznavar, have been at the epicenter of Azerbaijani truce violations reported for the last two and a half months. Several local houses have been damaged by what their residents call nightly gunfire. They say they are now scared of not only spending nights in their homes but also working in their fields.
“Yes, shots were fired and are being fired, but they are not targeted,” said Lieutenant-General Eduard Asrian, the chief of the Armenian army’s General Staff. “The official news feed of our ministry reports on shots that are specifically targeted.”
Asrian told journalists that the gunfire is aimed at putting “psychological pressure” on Armenian villagers and soldiers guarding the border with Azerbaijan.
“But the fact is that we don't pay attention to that and continue our normal service,” he said.
Speaking to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Tuesday, several Khnatsakh and Khoznavar residents said the gunfire continues unabated.
“I don’t know if they shoot in the air or at people?” said one of them. “Yesterday, for example, they shot at 5:30 [a.m.] At that moment I was taking my cows out [of the barn.] Now how do I know if they are shooting at me or shooting in the air?”
The reported truce violations began shortly after official announcement on March 13 that Baku and Yerevan have bridged their differences on the text of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty. The Azerbaijani leadership has made clear that it will not sign the treaty without securing more Armenian concessions.
Armenian opposition figures and pundits have suggested that the cross-border shots are aimed at forcing Yerevan to make those concessions or preparing the ground for a large-scale military attack on Armenia. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has ruled out the possibility of such an attack. Pashinian’s critics say he is reluctant to admit that unilateral concessions already made by him to Baku will not end the conflict with Azerbaijan anytime soon.
Asrian indicated in this regard that the Armenian military has so far seen no signs of an Azerbaijani troop buildup along the border.