Armenians Seize Key Border Outpost
Armenian forces seized Azerbaijan’s last outpost on its 100-mile southwestern border with Iran, Azerbaijani television said Thursday.
The Armenians used tanks, armored vehicles and infantry in the five-hour overnight attack on the border post, located near the Khudaferin bridge south of Fizuli, the report said.
Fizuli, captured earlier by the Armenians, is about 150 miles southwest of Baku, the capital.
Before dawn Thursday, Azerbaijani border guards escaped across the bridge into Iran, said the report, quoting the border guard command.
The Khudaferin bridge over the border river Araks was the only one in the area, and it was reportedly destroyed by the Armenians along with a nearby dam that was under construction.
The seizure of the border post gave the Armenians control over the entire southwestern part of Azerbaijan’s border with Iran.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been fighting for nearly six years for control over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is inside Azerbaijan. At least 15,000 people have died in the war and about 1 million have lost their homes.
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