Over the Easter weekend, the European Union Monitoring Mission in Armenia (EUMA) carried out 27 day and night patrols across its Area of Operation, including the border villages of Khoznavar, Khnatsakh, and Aravus. According to a statement posted on X, EUMA observers in Khoznavar documented two gunshots that struck civilian infrastructure—possibly fired from nearby Azerbaijani military positions.
One of the bullets hit a solar panel mounted on the roof of a village home belonging to Karine Hakobjyan, a mother of three.
Armenia’s Defense Ministry responded by urging Azerbaijan to investigate the incident and provide “public clarifications.” As of Tuesday afternoon, Baku had yet to issue any response.
The nightly gunfire hasn’t let up, according to local residents. Roman Grigoryan, another villager from Khoznavar, confirmed that the shooting has continued unabated. “It has become ordinary,” he said grimly.
For nearly a month, residents of Khoznavar and neighboring Khnatsakh have reported nightly gunfire from Azerbaijani army outposts. The shelling began shortly after Azerbaijan started leveling baseless accusations that Armenian forces were violating the ceasefire agreement—charges firmly denied by Yerevan.
Notably, this escalation followed the March 13 announcement that Armenia and Azerbaijan had reached a compromise on the wording of a future peace treaty. Many in Armenia believe Baku’s current strategy is to manufacture provocations in order to pressure Yerevan into further territorial or diplomatic concessions.
The Azerbaijani regime has repeatedly made it clear that no peace agreement will be signed unless Armenia agrees to additional terms—terms that critics argue amount to a surrender of sovereignty and security.
Despite the rising tensions, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan downplayed the threat of a new war last week, directly contradicting warnings issued by his own foreign minister. His close political ally, parliament speaker Alen Simonyan, followed suit on Tuesday, brushing off the nightly attacks as inconsequential.
“Negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan will not reach a deadlock, and the likelihood of war will not increase due to any current developments,” Simonyan told reporters.
But with bullets piercing rooftops and families taking shelter in fear night after night, villagers in Armenia’s borderlands might find little comfort in such dismissive assurances from Yerevan.
