“Dozens” of Armenians killed in Azerbaijani mortar strikes (Video)

The strikes, filmed by an Azerbaijani drone, also destroyed several Armenian vehicles, the ministry said.

The army retaliated against Armenian attacks in recent days that killed three Azerbaijani servicemen, it said.

The ministry accused authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh of hiding deaths from the Armenian public. It said responsibility for an escalation of tensions will lie with the Armenian political and military leadership.

Armenians seized nearly one-fifth of Azerbaijan’s internationally-recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh, in a war after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

While major hostilities ended with a cease-fire in 1994, no peace agreement has been signed.

Armenia continues the occupation of the Azerbaijani territory in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.