Azerbaijani Border Guard officer injured in shelling by Armenia

An Azerbaijani State Border Guard Service officer has been reportedly injured as a result of shelling by Armenia. This claim was made by the press service of the State Border Guard Service, which was cited in a TASS report. "On March 20 at 02:50 (01:50 Moscow time), in the section of the Azerbaijani-Armenian state border passing through the territory of Zangilan District, Armenian armed forces’ units from positions in the direction of the Nerkin Hand settlement of Kafan District, shelled the positions of the Azerbaijani State Border Guard Service stationed at the Agbashyurd height. As a result, Border Guard Service serviceman junior sergeant Ramin Manafov was wounded," the report read. 

The serviceman who was injured, has undergone operation. His life is now apparently out of danger. A press release by the Azerbaijani Border Guard Service has said that the situation is currently under control. However, Armenia is denying Azerbaijan's claim. A statement from the Armenian Defense Ministry reads that "the State Border Service of Azerbaijan spread a disinformation claiming that units of the Armenian Armed Forces opened fire towards the Azerbaijani combat positions located in the Southeastern part of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border zone on March 20, at around 2:50 a.m.". 

A look at the conflict between Armenia and Azerbijan

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has several different strands. One of the most important strand is the conflict surrounding the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. It was established in the 1923 by USSR. It was 95% Armenian ethnically, but for some reason, USSR decided to make it a part of Azerbijan. As the USSR started declining, "Nagorno-Karabakh’s regional legislature passed a resolution in 1988 declaring its intention to join the Republic of Armenia, despite its official location within Azerbaijan," according to a report from the Council of Foreign Relations, a think tank based in US' capital, Washington DC. 

As the Soviet Union collapsed, Azerbaijan and Armenia attained full statehood. Soon enough, war broke out between the two over the region. By 1993, Armenia gained control of the most of the region. More than 30,000 people lost their life in the war. In 1994, Russia brokered a ceasefire, which is known as the Bishkek Protocol. Under the Bishkek Protocol, Nagorno-Karabakh became quasi independent. However, it remained dependent on Armenia. The ceasefire brokered by Russia remained in place till 2020. Since September of 2020, conflict has been casting its shadow on the region. This latest development is merely a part of the old conflict, resolution of which seems rather unlikely.