Azerbaijan: July 12 marks second anniversary of Tovuz battles

Today marks two years since the beginning of the fighting on the Tovuz section of the Azerbaijani-Armenian state border.

On the afternoon of July 12, 2020, units of the Armenian Armed forces grossly violated the ceasefire regime in the direction of Tovuz District.

The Armenians attempted to go on the offensive to seize Azerbaijani positions. First, the enemy, using small-caliber small arms, mortars and other large-caliber heavy artillery installations, fired on a number of Azerbaijani border settlements - the villages of Aghdam, Dondar Gushchu, Alibayli, Vahidli, Yukhari Oysuzlu and Ashagi Oysuzlu.

The command of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces immediately ordered the units located on this section of the state border to take retaliatory measures against the enemy.

As a result, the attack was prevented, enemy firing points on the front line of the defense of the Armenian Armed Forces, reserves located deep in the defence, strong points, artillery installations, military facilities for various purposes, military equipment and up to a hundred servicemen were also destroyed.

According to the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry, the military-political leadership of Armenia, as during the April 2016 battles, guided by the ban on the dissemination of military information, concealed combat losses from the public.

According to available information, the dead included militants of Armenian origin from Syria and various countries of the Middle East. Since this category of persons was not officially registered in Armenia, it was easier for the military leadership to hide the losses.

Active hostilities, which began on July 12, continued until the evening of July 17. During this time, all attempts by the units of the Armenian Armed Forces to seize Azerbaijani positions were resolutely suppressed and no territorial losses were allowed.

At the same time, since the fighting was conducted on the state border between the two countries, the retaliatory measures taken by the Azerbaijani army in accordance with the types of weapons used were aimed solely at suppressing enemy firing points and preventing its advance.

In the Tovuz battles, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces did not aim to capture enemy positions or advance in any direction.

Twelve servicemen of the Azerbaijani army - Major General Polad Hashimov, Colonel Ilgar Mirzayev, Major Namig Ahmadov, Major Anar Novruzov, Senior Lieutenant Rashad Mahmudov, Ensign Ilgar Zeynalli, Ensign Yashar Babayev, long-term private Elchin Mustafazade, long-term sergeant Vugar Sadigov, long-term private Nazim Ismayilov, Senior private Elshad Mammadov, private Khayyam Dashdamirov - were martyred. During the fighting, several servicemen were injured.

It is a matter of national pride that in the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, generals and officers fought and died in the same row with their subordinate soldiers. The same cannot be said about the Armenian army, where the usual chaos was going on during the fighting.

It should be noted that during the hostilities, as a result of intensive shelling of settlements and non-military facilities of Azerbaijan, the civilian local population suffered, damage was caused to state and private property, as well as infrastructure facilities.

As a result of the shelling of Tovuz District by the Armenian Armed Forces, Aghdam village resident Aziz Azizov (born in 1944) was killed on July 14.

The clashes in Tovuz launched the process of voluntary mobilization of Azerbaijani citizens into the ranks of the army, and defeated Armenia multiplied its provocations. All this led to the beginning of the 44-day Patriotic War on September 27, 2020 - a large-scale counter-offensive operation that ended with Azerbaijan's victory and the liberation of the territories of our republic from Armenian occupation.