According to sea-news.az that it has been six years since the start of the Tovuz battles. On July 12, 2020, starting from the afternoon, units of the Armenian armed forces grossly violated the ceasefire regime in the direction of the Tovuz district.
The Armenians attempted to launch an attack with the aim of seizing our positions. Initially, the enemy used small arms, 60, 82, and 120 mm mortars, as well as other heavier artillery pieces, shelling several of our border settlements—the villages of Aghdam, Dondar Gushchu, Alibeyli, Vahidli, Yuxari Oysuzlu, and Ashaghi Oysuzlu.
The command immediately ordered the units stationed in this direction to take countermeasures against the enemy.
As a result of these actions, the enemy’s attack was thwarted. The firing points on the front line of their defense, reserves in the depth of their defense, strongholds, artillery pieces, military facilities of various purposes, combat equipment, and up to a hundred enemy personnel were destroyed.
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense stated that the Armenian military-political leadership, as they did during the April 2016 battles, concealed their combat losses from the public, citing the ban on the dissemination of military information.
According to the information obtained, the enemy’s losses included fighters of Armenian origin from Syria and various countries in the Middle East. Since these individuals were not officially registered in Armenia, it was easier for the Armenian military leadership to hide these losses.
The active combat operations that began on July 12 continued until the evening of July 17. During this time, the attempts by the units of the Armenian armed forces to seize our positions were decisively repelled, and no territorial losses were permitted.
Since this operational direction also serves as the state border between the two countries, the response measures taken by the Azerbaijani Army were directed solely at silencing the enemy’s firing points and preventing their advance, in accordance with the types of weapons used by the enemy. Naturally, our units had no intention of seizing enemy positions or advancing in any direction.
While preventing the enemy’s attack, 12 servicemen of the Azerbaijani Army were martyred: Major General Polad Hashimov, Colonel Ilgar Mirzayev, Major Namig Ahmadov, Major Anar Novruzov, Senior Lieutenant Rashad Mahmudov, Warrant Officer Ilgar Zeynalli, Warrant Officer Yashar Babayev, extended active duty soldier Elchin Mustafazade, Sergeant Vugar Sadigov, soldier Nazim Ismayilov, Senior Sergeant Elshad Mammadov, and soldier Khayyam Dashdamirov. There were also those wounded during the battles.
Unlike the situation in the Armenian army, it is a source of pride that our martyr general and officers perished while fighting the enemy on the front line, alongside the soldiers under their command.
It should be noted that during the battles, intensive shelling of settlements and non-military objects caused damage to the civilian population, state property, private property, and infrastructure. On July 14, as a result of artillery fire, Aziz Azizov, a 1944-born resident of Aghdam village in the Tovuz district, was killed.
The Tovuz battles strengthened the state’s strategic determination and the people’s spirit of resistance against Armenia’s occupation. During the fierce fighting in Tovuz, a process of voluntary enlistment in the army began in Azerbaijan. Having been defeated in these battles, Armenia expanded its provocations against Azerbaijan. In response to these provocations, Azerbaijan launched powerful counter-offensive operations on September 27, and within 44 days, liberated its occupied territories.
