A Russian military helicopter was shot down on Monday over Armenia, not far from the border with Azerbaijan, and two crew members were killed, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Azerbaijan admitted having shot down this aircraft near its border, over Armenia, thinking that it was “provocations from the Armenian side”. Baku has apologized to Moscow for this “tragic incident”.
“The Mi-24 helicopter came under fire from the ground of a portable air defense system. Two members of the crew died, and another was evacuated with injuries, ”the Russian ministry said.
The aircraft was hit at around 6.30 p.m. local time (3.30 p.m. in Paris) while accompanying a column of vehicles from a Russian military base in Armenia. The Armenian Ministry of Emergency Situations announced to him that it had deployed aid to the site.
The fighting resumed in September
Armenian separatists and Azerbaijani forces have been fighting since the end of September for control of Nagorno Karabakh, a separatist region supported by Armenia and which has escaped Azerbaijani control since the 1990s.
Baku claims to have captured the strategic city of Shusha on Sunday. Armenia for its part denied, saying that the fight continued.
Russia, Armenia’s military ally, also has good relations with Azerbaijan. She has hinted in the past that she would intervene in the Karabakh conflict only if it goes outside the region, while repeatedly calling for a ceasefire.
Original article by : www.leparisien.fr
