Yerevan fears repeat of "Retaliation" operation

Yerevan rushed to issue a lengthy peacekeeping statement on the wounding of Azerbaijani border guard Senior Lieutenant Rovshan Mammadov in the Gubadli region of Azerbaijan.  The officer was wounded around 3.20pm on 10 April, and Yerevan acknowledges that Azerbaijani border guards tried to prevent two Armenian citizens driving a flock of sheep into Azerbaijani territory from crossing the border. The flock and shepherds were returned to Armenian territory.

It is hard to imagine that two locals with 200 sheep got lost during the day in their native land.

Yerevan's haste is explained by the fear of repetition of "Retaliation" operation by the Azerbaijani army, as it happened on 12 February 2024, when Armenians wounded an Azerbaijani border guard. Then, on 13 April, as a result of the response - "Retaliation" operation, four fighters of Armenia's volunteer informal military organisation were killed and six wounded, from whose position the Azerbaijani border guard was fired at. The commander of the Armenian Army Special Forces Corps, Armen Gezalyan, was also wounded.

In order to prevent a retaliatory attack by the Azerbaijani side, the Armenian National Security Service issued a statement:  "The border troops of the Armenian NSS propose to conduct an investigation together with the border troops of Azerbaijan. The border troops of the Republic of Armenia are conducting their own investigation and the results will be reported additionally," Yerevan said.

This time Armenia's statement is in an apologetic tone, unlike the verbal altercation in February, when almost immediately after the wounding of an Azerbaijani border guard, the press of the neighbouring country published allegations of Azerbaijani guilt.  Yerevan does not want a repeat of "Retaliation" operation.