An Armenian village near the Iranian border came under Azerbaijani gunfire on Friday, coinciding with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s trip to Istanbul for a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
According to Armenia’s Defense Ministry, automatic gunfire from Azerbaijani positions struck the village of Nerkin Hand in Syunik province, damaging the roof of a residential house. Photographs released by the ministry show several bullet holes, though no injuries were reported.
Local residents told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that they heard gunshots early Friday morning, with similar gunfire reported the day before. “We can’t leave our homes or take cover—my family doesn’t even have a basement or a safe place,” said resident Lusine Babayan.
The incident marks the first reported ceasefire violation in Nerkin Hand since February 2024. In contrast, other villages in Syunik—roughly 200 kilometers north—have faced recurring Azerbaijani fire over the past three months.
Located less than 40 kilometers from the Iranian border, Nerkin Hand lies in a region increasingly viewed as strategically vulnerable. Armenian analysts warn that Azerbaijan could exploit escalating tensions between Iran and Israel to launch a military operation aimed at creating a land corridor through Syunik to its Nakhichevan exclave.
However, Pashinyan has dismissed such concerns as “provocative” and “unfounded,” claiming that Armenia and Azerbaijan have largely agreed on the terms of a peace treaty finalized earlier this year.
Still, the treaty remains unsigned, with Baku making it contingent on constitutional changes in Armenia and continuing to press for an extraterritorial corridor through Syunik—demands strongly opposed by Tehran.
Turkey has backed Azerbaijan’s position. Erdogan, who met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday, was scheduled to hold talks with Pashinyan in Istanbul on Friday evening.
An Armenian village near the Iranian border came under Azerbaijani gunfire on Friday, coinciding with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s trip to Istanbul for a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
According to Armenia’s Defense Ministry, automatic gunfire from Azerbaijani positions struck the village of Nerkin Hand in Syunik province, damaging the roof of a residential house. Photographs released by the ministry show several bullet holes, though no injuries were reported.
The incident marks the first reported ceasefire violation in Nerkin Hand since February 2024. In contrast, other villages in Syunik—roughly 200 kilometers north—have faced recurring Azerbaijani fire over the past three months.
Located less than 40 kilometers from the Iranian border, Nerkin Hand lies in a region increasingly viewed as strategically vulnerable. Armenian analysts warn that Azerbaijan could exploit escalating tensions between Iran and Israel to launch a military operation aimed at creating a land corridor through Syunik to its Nakhichevan exclave.
However, Pashinyan has dismissed such concerns as “provocative” and “unfounded,” claiming that Armenia and Azerbaijan have largely agreed on the terms of a peace treaty finalized earlier this year.
Still, the treaty remains unsigned, with Baku making it contingent on constitutional changes in Armenia and continuing to press for an extraterritorial corridor through Syunik—demands strongly opposed by Tehran.
Turkey has backed Azerbaijan’s position. Erdogan, who met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday, was scheduled to hold talks with Pashinyan in Istanbul on Friday evening.
