On June 20, between 8:00?p.m. and 9:00 p.m., Azerbaijani Forces opened fire toward the Armenian village of Nerkin Hand in the Syunik Province, damaging a residential house, reports Armenia’s Defense Ministry (MoD).
No casualties were reported as a result of the incident.
The Armenian MoD urged Azerbaijan to investigate the shelling of the civilian home and to provide a public explanation.
Nerkin Hand (?????? ????), located in the Kapan Municipality near Armenia’s volatile border with Azerbaijan, has seen repeated ceasefire violations over the past several years despite ongoing diplomatic efforts to stabilize the frontier and finalize a peace agreement between the two countries.
However, there had been no reported ceasefire violations in or around Nerkin Hand since February 2024. In recent months, such violations have been more frequent in two other Syunik villages—Khoznavar and Khnatsakh—located approximately 200 kilometers to the north.
Notably, this latest gunfire incident occurred as Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was in Turkey for a high-level meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an. The trip is part of a broader diplomatic initiative that includes talks with regional leaders, including Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. It comes as Armenia and Azerbaijan work toward finalizing a peace treaty based on the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration.
The timing of the attack also coincides with heightened geopolitical tensions, as global attention remains focused on the Israel–Iran conflict. Analysts warn that Azerbaijan may exploit such distractions or diplomatic cover to escalate pressure along Armenia’s borders—a pattern observed during previous flare-ups.
As of now, Azerbaijani authorities have not commented on the Nerkin Hand incident.
