At his daily press briefing today, Armenian Defense Ministry Special Representative Artsrun Hovhannisyan said that fighting near Shushi has continued for the past two days and that intensive battles took place today in villages near the city and roads leading to it.

Hovhannisyan said that if May 8, 1992 is commemorated as Shushi Liberation Day, the ongoing fighting will be remembered as the days when Armenian forces heroically defended Shushi.

He said that Armenian forces continue to locate and neutralize Azerbaijani subversive units and mercenaries.

Hovhannisyan said the fighting continues but at a much lower level of intensity, adding that the same can be said along other sections of the front.

He said that Armenian troops had destroyed Azerbaijani troops dispatched to Shushi from other areas.

"There are elite (Azerbaijani-ed) subdivisions headed towards Shushi, which, as a rule are outfitted with extremely mobile equipment, are well-armed, and have been trained in such a way that they can fight day and night with the same intensity. I cannot say that the operation to defend Shushi is over. I cannot say that everything is wonderful and more difficult days to not await us. But the situation has changed Tomorrow the situation is unlikely to be the same. Today was one of the days of the heroic defense of Shushi. Shushi is ours. Shushi will not fall," Hovhannisyan concluded.