YEREVAN, September 14. /TASS/. Azerbaijan’s armed forces have been using artillery, mortars and other weapons near the Armenian settlements of Jermuk and Verin Shorzha starting Wednesday morning, the Armenian Defense Ministry reported.

"The situation on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan remained tense last night. The enemy used a drone near Jermuk. Starting at 08:00 am local time (07:00 am Moscow time - TASS), the enemy has been on the offensive towards Jermuk and Verin Shorzha, using artillery, mortars and large caliber guns," the ministry said in a statement.

On Tuesday night, the Armenian Defense Ministry said that Azerbaijani forces opened heavy fire against the settlements of Goris, Sotk and Jermuk, using artillery, large caliber guns and small arms. The Armenian Security Council convened an emergency meeting where a decision was made to ask Russia to use the relevant provisions of the Agreement on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance and also to appeal to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the UN Security Council. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told the parliament that the Azerbaijani attacks had left 49 people dead.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev remarked, in his turn, that his country’s armed forces had been taking response measures and laid the blame on Armenia’s military and political leaders. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported 50 deaths among its troops.