By Idris Okuduci
BARDA, Azerbaijan (AA) – At least 11 children lost their lives and eight others were wounded in Armenian attacks on Azerbaijan since Sept. 27.
On the first day of the border clashes, Armenian forces launched heavy artillery fire on a village near Naftalan city in central Azerbaijan.
As a result of the artillery attacks, two children, aged 13 and 14, lost their lives.
In the attacks between Sept. 28 and Oct. 16, four children were killed by Armenian forces.
Moreover, three children were orphaned in the attack on Oct. 11 on Ganja city, the second-largest city of Azerbaijan with a population of nearly 500,000.
On Oct. 17, at least four children, including two infants, lost their lives because of the attacks on Ganja city.
Two infants, 5 and 10 months old, and two children, aged 13 and 15, died in this attack with mid-range ballistic missiles.
Separately on Oct. 27, Armenian forces attacked a village near Barda city with cluster bombs.
The attack took the life of a 7-year-old girl while she was playing with her sisters in the lawn of their house.
In less than 24 hours, another attack was carried out by Armenian forces on one of the most crowded streets of Barda city, wounding at least 70 civilians including eight children.
About 20% of Azerbaijan's territory — including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions — has been under illegal Armenian occupation for nearly three decades.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Minsk Group — co-chaired by France, Russia, and the US — was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail. A cease-fire, however, was agreed to in 1994.
World powers, including Russia, France, and the US have called for a sustainable cease-fire. Turkey, meanwhile, has supported Baku's right to self-defense and demanded the withdrawal of Armenia's occupying forces.
Since clashes erupted last month, Armenia has repeatedly attacked Azerbaijani civilians and forces, even violating three humanitarian cease-fire agreements since Oct. 10.
*Writing by Merve Berker
