The Azerbaijani military has liberated 13 more villages in the Jabrayil district from Armenian occupation, the country’s President Ilham Aliyev said Monday.
"The villages of Soltanli, Emirvarli, Mashanli, Hasanli, Alikeykhanli, Gumlag, Hajili, Goyerchinveysalli, Niyazguzlar, Kechel Memmedli, Shahvelli, Haji Ismayilli and Isagli in Jabrayil district have been liberated. Karabakh is Azerbaijan!" Ilham Aliyev said on Twitter.
"There are dead and wounded due to these heinous actions. Azerbaijan's army retaliated befittingly and liberated several settlements," he added.
Aliyev noted that Armenian forces have continued to blatantly violate the humanitarian cease-fire by using heavy artillery targeting residential areas and combat positions in Azerbaijan.
The cease-fire in Nagorno-Karabakh, which initially began on Sept. 27, was announced Saturday and had only taken effect at midnight (8 p.m. GMT).
Baku and Yerevan agreed to the cease-fire after a previous humanitarian cease-fire declared on Oct. 10 and meant to allow an exchange of prisoners and the recovery of dead bodies. The Oct. 10 cease-fire, however, was breached hours later by Armenian missile attacks on Azerbaijan's city of Ganja, killing 10 people and injuring 35.
Later on Sunday, Armenia and Azerbaijan reiterated their commitments to the cease-fire in statements issued by their foreign ministries, blaming the breaches on each other.
Azerbaijan “reserves its right to take countermeasures to protect its civilians and positions,” the country's Foreign Ministry said.
Yerevan “will continue to undertake all necessary measures to impose peace on Azerbaijan and establish a cease-fire regime, which will entail precise and effective mechanisms for maintaining and verifying it," the Armenian Foreign Ministry said.
Azerbaijani authorities said 60 civilians have been killed and 270 have been wounded since Sept. 27, but they haven’t revealed military losses.
The number of houses damaged in Armenian attacks has reached over 1,700, along with 90 residential buildings and 327 civil facilities, according to Azerbaijani officials.
Since clashes erupted between the two countries on Sept. 27 over Nagorno-Karabakh – Azerbaijani territory occupied by Armenia for nearly 30 years – Armenia has continued its attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces.
Last Thursday, the Armenian Armed Forces targeted civilians visiting a cemetery in the western city of Terter, killing four and also injuring four.
Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.
About 20% of Azerbaijan's territory has remained under illegal Armenian occupation for nearly three decades.
Multiple U.N. resolutions, as well as international organizations, demand the withdrawal of the occupying forces.
World powers, including Russia, France and the United States, have called for the cessation of hostilities. Turkey, meanwhile, has supported Baku's right to self-defense and demanded the withdrawal of Armenia's occupying forces.
