Update: The number of injured civilians has risen to 32. The civilian death toll of 1 remains the same.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry denies reports of shelling of military facilities in the city of Ganja.
As a result of shells fired by Armenian forces, 4 civilians were injured and 1 died in Ganja, Azerbaijan. The information was reported on by Azerbaijan State Television (AzTV). The incident took place on October 4 in the morning.
Arayik Harutyunyan, President of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh, announced the attack, stating, "today I commanded to neutralize Ganja military objects."
Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov assessed the targeting of Ganja as follows:
"An attack originating from Armenia onto the territory of Azerbaijan is an open provocation and expands the combat zone."
Armenian media reported that the shelling hit military facilities in Ganja, but the "Armenian Ministry of Defense
dismissed
the claim that the shelling originated from the territory of Armenia. This was denied by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, stating, "as a result of the fire, civilians were hit, and civilian infrastructure and ancient historical buildings were damaged."
Presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev confirmed that the Armenian armed forces fired heavy artillery and missiles at the city of Ganja, as well as the settlement of Horadiz in the Tartar and Fizuli regions.
The presidential aide said that rockets were fired from the territory of Armenia in the direction of Fizuli and Jabrayil regions of Azerbaijan. As a result of these attacks by Armenia, some civilians were killed and injured.
"Most of the artillery and missile attacks are carried out from artillery bases near the city of Khankendi. The Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan shall destroy these firing points in a targeted manner and with accurate fire to ensure the safety of civilians and shall take adequate measures."
Ganja is Azerbaijan's second largest city in the north west of the country.
