Day: September 19, 2023

Azerbaijan’s defense ministry said Tuesday it had begun an “anti-terrorist” campaign in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, as Armenian media and local authorities reported heavy bombardment of the regional capital of Stepanakert.

Two civilians, including a child, were killed, and 11 people were injured, amid shelling by the Azerbaijan military, according to Gegham Stepanyan, the Ombudsman in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave that is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, has been the cause of two wars between the neighbors in the past three decades, most recently in 2020.

Tensions have been simmering around the region for months, after Azerbaijani troops blockaded the Lachin corridor in December, cutting off the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and preventing the import of food to its roughly 120,000 inhabitants.

Russian peacekeepers, who deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh under the terms of the 2020 ceasefire, have been tasked with preventing a fresh conflict breaking out. But Moscow has been accused of being unable or unwilling to intervene to protect Armenia, its long-term ally, in the face of continuing aggression from Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijani defense ministry demanded in a statement Tuesday “the complete withdrawal of ethnic Armenian troops and the dissolution of the government in Stepanakert.”

“The only way to achieve peace and stability in the region is the unconditional and complete withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and the dissolution of the puppet regime,” it said.

“As part of local anti-terrorist measures carried out in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, regular long-term firing points and military installations of the Armenian armed forces were destroyed by precise strikes by units of the Azerbaijan Army,” the ministry added.

The ministry claimed its army had come under “systematic shelling” from Armenia’s armed forces, adding that its action was designed to “neutralize their military infrastructure” and “ultimately restore the constitutional order of the Republic of Azerbaijan.”

“Only legitimate military targets are being incapacitated,” it added.

It said Armenia had fortified its positions, “bringing units to a high level of combat readiness,” and that mines had been planted in previously de-mined areas. The ministry also claimed one Azeri vehicle had struck a mine and two civilians had been killed.

But Armenia’s foreign ministry rejected claims that the Armenian army was in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Armenia’s assistance to Nagorno-Karabakh is of a humanitarian nature, the need for which is further confirmed by the humanitarian crisis caused by the illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor,” it said in a statement.

Armenian news agency Armenpress reported that Nagorno-Karabakh’s army, which is not part of Armenia’s armed forces, is “displaying ‘resolute resistance’ to the Azeri military’s attempts to advance.”

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has convened a meeting of the Armenian Security Council against the backdrop of the situation in Karabakh.

Armenia’s defense ministry wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, to deny Azerbaijan’s claims that Armenian forces had opened fire on Azeri combat outposts.

Armenian news agency Armenpress said the city of Stepanakert City was under heavy Azerbaijani bombardment, and that mobile and internet connection had been disrupted.

“Recently, the Azerbaijani side has been carrying out daily troop transfers and stockpiling of various weapons, which were accompanied by intensive information and propaganda activities, preparing the ground for large-scale aggression against Artsakh,” the Foreign Ministry of Artsakh – the local term for Nagorno-Karabakh – said in a statement.

“Now we are witnessing how Azerbaijan, in order to implement its policy of genocide, is moving towards the physical destruction of the civilian population and the destruction of civilian objects.”

CNN has been unable to verify the claims of either side in the conflict.

The previous war, which ended in a crushing defeat for the de-facto Nagorno-Karabakh state backed by Armenia’s government, lasted 44 days, before a Moscow-brokered ceasefire ended the conflict.

The deal provided for around 2,000 Russian peacekeepers to deploy to Nagorno-Karabakh to guard the Lachin corridor. But Russia’s peacekeepers did not prevent Azerbaijani troops from establishing a military checkpoint along the corridor, stopping the import of food to the enclave.

Earlier this month, Pashinyan said Azerbaijan had concentrated troops on the border with Armenia and the dividing line with Nagorno-Karabakh, and warned of a possible escalation.

“Over the past week, the military-political situation in our region has deteriorated significantly,” Pashinyan said. “The reason is that Azerbaijan has been accumulating troops along the contact line of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border for several days now.”

The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell condemned the attack, saying “military escalation should not be used as a pretext to force the exodus of the local population.”

The French Foreign Ministry also slammed Azerbaijan’s aggression and said it had called for a UN Security Council meeting “to be urgently convened.”

Pashinyan’s told Armenpress that he had spoken with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and French President Emmanuel Macron about the unfolding crisis, saying that “both sides emphasized the unacceptability of the use of force and noted the need to use international mechanisms for de-escalation.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was deeply alarmed by the sharp escalation in the region.

“(The) Russian side urges the conflicting parties to stop the bloodshed, immediately cease hostilities and return to the path of political and diplomatic settlement,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Tuesday, claiming the Russian peacekeeping contingent “continues to fulfill its tasks.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also expressed “concern about the sharp escalation of tensions and the outbreak of hostilities,” and called for Armenia and Azerbaijan to adhere to the tripartite agreements signed after the war in 2020.

But Pashinyan criticized Russia for not alerting his government about Azerbaijan’s plans to launch military action.

“We haven’t received any information from our partners in Russia about that operation,” Pashinyan was quoted by Armenpress as saying, describing this as “strange and perplexing.”

“Azerbaijan has essentially launched the ground operation to subject the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to ethnic cleansing,” Pashinyan said. “We believe that the Russian peacekeeping forces should first of all take measures, and second of all we expect the UN Security Council to take measures as well.”

CNN’s Chris Liakos, Maya Szaniecki and Alex Hardie contributed reporting.

“We must not allow certain people, certain forces to deal a blow to the Armenian state,” Pashinyan said.

“There are already calls, coming from different places, to stage a coup in Armenia.”

‘Intensive fire’

Armenia’s foreign ministry condemned Azerbaijani “aggression” against Karabakh.

“On September 19, Azerbaijan unleashed another large-scale aggression against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, aiming to complete its policy of ethnic cleansing,” the foreign ministry said.

It said Russian peacekeepers stationed in the region should “take clear and unequivocal steps to stop Azerbaijan’s aggression.”

A separatist organization based in Armenia said on social media that “Stepanakert and other cities and villages are under intensive fire,” accusing Azerbaijan of launching a “large-scale military offensive.”

Azerbaijan justified the mission, citing “systematic” shelling by Armenian-backed forces and accusing them of carrying out “reconnaissance activities” and fortifying defensive positions.

“There is also the strengthening of combat positions with personnel, armored vehicles, artillery and other weapons,” Azerbaijan said, accusing separatists of “a high level of combat readiness.”

Regional power brokers Russia and Turkey, which oversee a fragile peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh, had been informed about Azerbaijan’s military activities in Karabakh, Baku said.

Moscow urged the parties to the conflict to respect a peace accord and end the “bloodshed.”

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said it was given “minutes” notice of the start of Azerbaijan’s operation.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was “concerned” over the “sharp escalation” in Karabakh and was working to get the two countries to negotiate.

Mine blasts

The fighting came just hours after Azerbaijan said four police officers and two civilians were killed in mine blasts in Nagorno-Karabakh, with authorities blaming separatists.

The deaths at dawn came after Armenian separatists said they had reached an agreement with Azerbaijani authorities to resume aid deliveries to Karabakh.

Baku’s security services said two civilians had died in the district of Khojavend and four police officers were killed in another mine explosion en route to the site.

Their vehicle hit “a mine laid on a tunnel road under construction by illegal Armenian armed groups,” a statement said.

Azerbaijan said the incident took place “in the zone of temporary deployment of the Russian peacekeeping contingent,” despatched by Moscow in 2020 as part of a ceasefire deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan said the police officers were killed on the road to Azerbaijani-controlled Shusha, recaptured from separatists in 2020.

In the six-week 2020 war, Azerbaijan regained control of key areas of Karabakh, including the culturally revered town of Shusha.

But other parts of the region, including the main city of Stepanakert, remain under the control of Armenian separatists.

Azerbaijan said the road to Shusha was built after it captured pockets of land from Armenia in 2020.

“During the construction of the road, the area along the route was cleared of mines,” Baku said.

Karabakh is heavily mined. Over the last three decades, hundreds of Azerbaijanis have been wounded or killed by landmines laid by Armenian forces.

Azerbaijan said Tuesday more than 300 of its nationals have been wounded or killed by mines since 2020.

Both Azerbaijani and Armenian militaries used them during a bloody conflict in the early 1990s.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that landmines were the main obstacle impeding the return of displaced people to territories retaken from Armenian separatists in 2020.

The Armed Forces of Armenia are not participating in the military operations in Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh, Ani Bandalyan, press secretary of Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in response to a statement of Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“In response to the call of the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Armenia and Azerbaijan to “immediately stop military operations, and return to the path of political-diplomatic settlement,” we would like to inform that the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia are not participating in the military operations.

The Republic of Armenia has always been committed to resolving all existing issues exclusively through political and diplomatic means, with appropriate proposals,” she said.

Earlier NEWS.am reported that Azerbaijan՛s Armed Forces started to use artillery along the entire line of contact in Nagorno Karabakh as of 1 p.m. on September 19, attempting to penetrate into the depth of the defense line of the Defense Forces of Nagorno Karabakh.

Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno Karabakh, as well as other settlements are under heavy selling now. The Human Rights Defender of Nagorno Karabakh, Gegham Stepanyan, reported that there are multiple casualties and injuries among civilians, including children.

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With a population that is primarily of Armenian descent and accepted internationally as being a part of Azerbaijan, Karabakh broke away from Baku’s rule in the early 1990s following a war. In a conflict in 2020, Azerbaijan reclaimed large areas of surrounding territory Image Courtesy AFP

In two separate events in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Azerbaijan reported on Tuesday that six of its nationals had been killed by land mines. “Illegal Armenian armed groups” were to blame for the lethal devices’ placement.

With a population that is primarily of Armenian descent and accepted internationally as being a part of Azerbaijan, Karabakh broke away from Baku’s rule in the early 1990s following a war. In a conflict in 2020, Azerbaijan reclaimed large areas of surrounding territory.

Four personnel of the interior ministry were killed, according to reports from Baku, when a mine blew up their truck close to where a tunnel was being built. It said that another mine had killed two civilians who were also riding in a truck.

The ethnic Armenian administration in Karabakh, which Azerbaijan wants to dismantle in order to reintegrate the region, did not respond right away. On Monday, Armenia denied claims that its own armed personnel had planted mines on Azerbaijani soil.

A day after desperately needed supplies of food and medication were simultaneously transported to Karabakh along two highways, a move that appeared to have the potential to reduce rising tension between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the landmine incidents took place.

But bilateral relations are still quite strained.

On Tuesday, the defence ministry of Azerbaijan accused “illegal Armenian armed groups” of interfering with a passenger plane’s GPS navigation as it was travelling from Tbilisi, Georgia, to Baku.

The charge, according to ethnic Armenians in Karabakh, is “an absolute lie” that is intended to draw attention away from “the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the illegal blockade” of Karabakh by Baku.

That was in reference to Azerbaijani restrictions that had been in place for months on the Lachin corridor, the only route between Armenia and Karabakh, and which, until recently, had prevented aid from entering on the pretext that it was allegedly being used for arms smuggling.

The foreign ministry of Armenia stated on Monday that it appeared as though Azerbaijan was setting the stage for a military escalation with its diplomatic attitude.

Both parties claim that they remain committed to settling their differences via a peace deal.

(With agency inputs)

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This handout photograph released by the Uzbek Presidential press service on September 14, 2023, shows the heads of states of participating countries if the Fifth Consultative Meeting of Central Asian Heads of State in Dushanbe. (From L): Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov, Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rakhmon, Turkmenistan’s President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. (Photo by Handout / Uzbek Presidential Press Service / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / UZBEK PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE ” – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS – RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / UZBEK PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE ” – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS /

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Fears of a fresh war have been building in recent months, with Armenia accusing Azerbaijan of a troop build-up and decrying a blockade of its only land link to Nagorno-Karabakh.

An AFP journalist in the separatist stronghold of Stepanakert said blasts could be heard in the town as Azerbaijan said it was using “high precision weapons on the front line and in depth”.

“Localised anti-terrorist measures have been launched in the region,” Baku’s defence ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said it had opened “humanitarian corridors and reception points” to allow civilians to leave.

“We reiterate that the civilian population and civilian infrastructure are not targets,” the statement said.

Ethnic Armenian forces in Karabakh said Azerbaijani troops were trying to break through their defences after heavy shelling, but that they were holding the line for now.

Armenia, which had been holding peace talks with Azerbaijan, condemned what it called Baku’s “full-scale aggression” against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and accused Azerbaijan of shelling towns and villages.

“Driven by a sense of impunity, Azerbaijan has openly claimed responsibility for the aggression,” Armenia’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

‘Intensive fire’

The latest escalation comes nearly three years after a brief but brutal war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the mountainous region.

The ex-Soviet Caucasus rivals have been locked in a decades-long dispute over Karabakh with large-scale hostilities breaking out in the 1990s and in 2020.

A separatist organisation based in Armenia said on social media that “Stepanakert and other cities and villages are under intensive fire,” accusing Azerbaijan of launching a “large-scale military offensive.”

Azerbaijan justified the mission, citing “systematic” shelling by Armenian-backed forces and accusing them of carrying out “reconnaissance activities” and fortifying defensive positions.

“There is also the strengthening of combat positions with personnel, armoured vehicles, artillery and other weapons,” Azerbaijan said, accusing separatists of “a high level of combat readiness”.

Regional power brokers Russia and Turkey, which oversee a fragile peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh, had been informed about Azerbaijan’s military activities in Karabakh, Baku said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin hosts Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (left) and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (right) for talks in Moscow on May 25, 2023. © Mikhail Metzel, AP

Moscow urged the parties to the conflict to respect a peace accord and end the “bloodshed”.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said it was given “minutes” notice of the start of Azerbaijan’s operation.

 The European Union called on Azerbaijan to stop its military operation in the disputed region and warned against displacing civilians. 

“Military actions of Azerbaijan must be immediately halted to allow for a genuine dialogue between Baku and Karabakh Armenians,” EU Council president Charles Michel wrote in a social media post.

“This military escalation should not be used as a pretext to force the exodus of the local population,”  added the EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell.

Mine blasts

The fighting came just hours after Azerbaijan said four police officers and two civilians were killed in mine blasts in Nagorno-Karabakh, with authorities blaming separatists. 

The deaths at dawn came after Armenian separatists said they had reached an agreement with Azerbaijani authorities to resume aid deliveries to Karabakh.

Baku’s security services said two civilians had died in the district of Khojavend and four police officers were killed in another mine explosion en route to the site.

Their vehicle hit “a mine laid on a tunnel road under construction by illegal Armenian armed groups,” a statement said. 

Azerbaijan said the incident took place “in the zone of temporary deployment of the Russian peacekeeping contingent,” despatched by Moscow in 2020 as part of a ceasefire deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan. 

Azerbaijan said the police officers were killed on the road to Azerbaijani-controlled Shusha, recaptured from separatists in 2020. 

In the six-week 2020 war, Azerbaijan regained control of key areas of Karabakh, including the culturally revered town of Shusha.  

But other parts of the region, including the main city of Stepanakert, remain under the control of Armenian separatists. 

Azerbaijan said the road to Shusha was built after it captured pockets of land from Armenia in 2020.

“During the construction of the road, the area along the route was cleared of mines,” Baku said. 

Nagorno-Karabakh is heavily mined. Azerbaijan said Tuesday more than 300 of its nationals have been wounded or killed by mines since 2020.  

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)