STEPANAKERT (Arka) — Nagorno-Karabakh Armed Forces repelled another attempt of sabotage last night by Azerbaijani troops in the eastern section of the line of contact with Azerbaijani forces.

“Nagorno-Karabakh troops deployed on the forefront discovered in time the movements of Azerbaijani commandos and took appropriate preventive measures destroying at least  two soldiers of the enemy and making the rest to flee,” the ministry said in a statement.

Karabakh troops suffered no casualties. According to the statement, on January 15 overnight Azerbaijani troops made over 600 shots from various caliber arms and grenade launchers on Karabakh armed forces’ positions.

Meanwhile, while presenting Germany’s strategy to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed concern about the heightened tension on the contact line in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone and along the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Germany is currently the chairing country of the OSCE.

“De-escalation remains a priority. In this regard, we support the initiative to establish a mechanism to investigate ceasefire violations,” the German Foreign Minister said.

“We need a stronger OSCE with a strong mission on the ground”, he said. “Allow us to strengthen the capacity of the OSCE through all the cycles of conflicts – from early warning and prevention, crisis management and post-conflict period,” said Steinmeier.