Azerbaijan foreign policy adviser says civilians being used as "human shields"

Azerbaijan has launched “local but limited counter-terrorism measures” aimed at striking military targets, the foreign policy adviser to President Ilham Aliyev, Hikmet Hajiyev told Al Jazeera.

In response to reports of at least 23 people having been wounded, including eight children, Hikmet Hajiyev said, “In no way is the Azerbaijan side targeting civilians. We have high-precision weapons and there are pre-determined military objectives.”

However, he said that “collateral damage” was likely unavoidable as civilians were being used as “human shields” in the contested region.

“We call on all civilians to take a safe distance from military targets,” he said.