Residential areas in Artsakh’s Martuni region came under Azerbaijani fire early Friday morning local time as shots were fired from positions located near the Karmir Shuka and Taghaverd villages.

Artsakh’s Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan reported that at around 5:50 a.m. local time, Azerbaijani forces began firing in the direction of the two villages in Martuni.

“Given the distance between the residential areas and the Azerbaijani positions, and the fact that the residential part of the village is directly observed from the Azerbaijani positions, it is undeniable that the Azerbaijani side was specifically targeting the civilian residences walls, roofs and other parts of houses were damaged,” Stepanyan said.

A bullet smashed a window of a house in Karmir Shuka going through the living room during the same operation, which according to Stepanyan, was intended to instill fear and threaten the civilian population.

“The criminal actions by Azerbaijan are systematic and are aimed at creating an atmosphere of fear in Artsakh,” added Stepanyan.

“As long as the international community refuses to condemn these illegal actions unequivocally, Azerbaijan will continue its military conduct against the people of Artsakh,” Stepanyan emphasized.

On a related matter, Armenia’s Defense Ministry on Friday refuted statements by Azerbaijan claiming that Armenian forces opened fire at its positions near the Karvachar section of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.