The notion of a breakthrough in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict soon could have quite a literal meaning. Azerbaijan is now busy walling itself off from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.
The three-meter-tall wall will stretch three kilometers across the conflict line to shield nearby Azerbaijani-controlled villages from sniper bullets. The wall starts in Ortagervend, a village where an eight-year-old boy was shot to death six months ago.
The chronic sniper exchange between the Azerbaijani army and separatist Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian forces has often turned deadly and threatened the return of all-out hostilities in the area. Azerbaijani authorities said that the sniper fire is driving the civilian population away from the villages.
In a rare sign of approval of an Azerbaijani initiative, separatist officials welcomed construction of the wall as a way to solidify the border of the disputed enclave.
Giorgi Lomsadze is a journalist based in Tbilisi, and author of Tamada Tales.
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