OSCE Monitoring on Line of Contact Suspended

OSCE monitoring along the southeastern section of the Karabakh-Azerbaijan Line of Contact near Hadrut was interrupted because of Azerbaijani gunfire.

According to a statement issued by the press office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Defense Ministry, the OSCE monitoring delegation was moving toward frontline position to conduct their period monitoring, however they were forced to pull back for security reasons as gunfire erupted from Azerbaijani military positions. The field officers of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson in Office made the decision to retreat and suspend the monitoring.

Representatives of the Ministry of Defense of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic accompanied the monitoring delegation which included the field officers of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson in Office, Khristo Khristov of Bulgaria and Jiri Aberle of the Czech Republic, .

The previous monitoring on the Line of Contact took place on December 2, 2014 near Marduni; that monitoring took place without incident.