Oct. 5 marks six years since the first missile and artillery strike on the Azerbaijani city of Barda during the 44-day war in 2020. Two civilians were killed and six others were wounded in the attack, according to Azerbaijani reports.
Shells struck central streets and an area near Barda’s central hospital on Oct. 5, 2020, damaging civilian property. The city and nearby communities were struck again on Oct. 8, Oct. 27, Oct. 28 and Nov. 7.
Deadliest Attack Came on Oct. 28
The deadliest strike came on Oct. 28, when rockets hit a busy part of Barda. Human Rights Watch said at least 21 civilians were killed and at least 70 were wounded.
After examining photographs and videos from the scene and interviewing witnesses, Human Rights Watch said Armenian forces either fired or supplied internationally banned cluster munitions and at least one other type of long-range rocket used in the attack. The organization identified remnants of a Smerch cluster-munition rocket and a Smerch high-explosive fragmentation rocket.
Amnesty International separately verified photographs showing fragments of Russian-made Smerch rockets and 9N235 cluster submunitions recovered after the strike near the hospital. Armenian officials denied responsibility for the Barda attack at the time.
Other Azerbaijani Cities Were Also Hit
APA reported that Ganja, Beylagan and the Goranboy, Goygol and Tartar districts were also attacked on Oct. 5. Three people were wounded in Ganja, while one rocket landed in the yard of a kindergarten in Beylagan.
Report said the Oct. 5 strike began a series of attacks on Barda, a city located far from the front line at the time.
The anniversary commemorates the civilians killed in Barda and underscores the lasting danger of using wide-area explosive weapons and cluster munitions in populated areas.
Source: Vesti Baku