Since renewed tensions at the end of last month, everything from rockets to missiles to weapons has been circulating in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, across the border from the Christian-dominated Armenia and the Muslim-majority Azerbaijan.
And not to be outdone, the two countries allegedly started clashing with each other again.
“It’s a full-scale war with all its elements. Fighting heavily on the frontline with a humanitarian crisis in almost the entire region,” Varuzan Gagamyan, a 29-year-old researcher from Stepanekart, told Fox News. “Twice, I’ve seen cluster bombs far away from our car while driving. There are a lot of unexploded bombs on the streets of Stepanekart and Shushi.”
He described the blast as “unprecedented” and described it as a “fight against jihadists” – and one that has pushed the masses underground.
Despite being internationally recognized as belonging to Azerbaijan, the region is inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians – sometimes referred to as Armenians “separatists.” Yet the civilians caught in the crossfire are not only inside the sprawling capital Stepanecourt but also people living in the surrounding mountains and villages, acting as long and distance weapons from both sides.
Saturday, Oct October, 2020, Saturday, a building damaged by shelling damaged during fighting in the broken area of Nagorno-Karabakh in Tartar, Azerbaijan. Armenia and Azerbaijan say heavy fighting continues in their conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan’s separatist territory. The president said his troops took him to a village late Saturday night. (AP Photo / Aziz Karimov)
Once a small but imperial capital, defined by houses carved into vast streets stretched across ancient stones and teal horizons, there is now talk of smallling he gala, in which parts of the neighborhood have dwindled and buildings left with spots and burns.
Fighting in the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict is a Syrian uprising
“The indiscriminate firing on Stepnekart by the Azerbaijani army has already been going on for 11 days. Almost the entire civilian life is being carried out in bomb shelters, resulting in a new humanitarian crisis,” Gehamian said. .
Some say it’s not just the stepcarts that are being strangled, but their small villages and desolate farmland have become fatally wounded – and even when they drive to the far edge of their towns they are forced to wage war. Has fallen. Sky.
“Private property has suffered a lot – we’re trying to record all the damage, but the volume is just too high. It’s already at a loss of tens of millions,” Nagorno Karbakhek, 32, told Human Rights Watch. Defender. “We are seeing the use of prohibited weapons – such as very large cluster bombs – and many human casualties because of this. People are scared, they have gone underground, or they are fleeing to IDP camps or have become refugees in Armenia. Frontline, people are dying. “
Karabakh, who lost his sight after setting foot on a landmine as a child, was told – somewhat gloomy – not to “turn a blind eye” to the world of firefighting.
Still, the displacement camps are filling up quickly with crying women and small children, still crane their throats and stare into the black sky – waiting for something to fall.
A car was destroyed by artillery in the self-proclaimed Stepanekart, Nagarberno-Karabakhk, Azerbaijan, on Tuesday, September 29, 2020. Armenian and Azerbaijani forces on Tuesday, fighting on the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, accused their territory of attack. -Karabakh continued for the third day straight after decades of conflict. (Areg Balayan / Pan Photo by AP)
Similarly, on the Azerbaijani side, there is no shortage of matching faces like grief maps – the last two weeks have been marked by fear and uneasiness as the diplomatic process is resolved, with little in the way of a concrete compromise to stop the bombing. .
Natig Musayev, a resident of Tartar district, told Fox News: “From day one, Armenians bombed our homes, schools, kindergartens, killing more than 30 people peacefully, and hundreds were injured.” Told the news. “But despite the artillery shelling and civilian casualties by the enemy, there is no panic among us, this is our land, and we will not leave under any circumstances.”
He said the last 12 days had been stuck on radio and television screens due to battlefield news, stressing that more than 30 civilians, including some school children, had lost their lives and limbs as a result of the deadly shooting, citing the number of accidents. Will only increase in the coming days.
Yet Musayev insisted he and his neighbors were facing a bombing.
“I’m not scared at all. I’m proud because we have a military and a strong spirit. We didn’t want a war because we don’t want anyone close to it to be killed or maimed.” “But we have to liberate our occupied territories.”
Officials said this week that the rocket struck a residential area in Ganja, Azerbaijan’s second-largest city, with photos circulating on social media showing the house being destroyed and smoking in the sky. Baku has accused Armenia of firing rockets not only from Nagorno-Karabakh but also from its national territory, an allegation that Yerevan has vehemently denied.
Nagorno-Karabakh has been a tool of defense since the 1994 ceasefire between the two former Soviet nations. The territory technically resides in Azerbaijan under international law, but is generally controlled and defined by ethnic Armenians – almost three decades after the Soviet Union, with the support of Armenia to run its affairs independently of the Azerbaijani capital Baku. Before.
Precious parcels – rich in minerals, mulberry groves and alpine meadows – are a source of patriotic pride for both countries. France, Russia and the U.S. The OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by, was established in 1992 to find a amicable solution. When a ceasefire was declared two years later, the controversy stalled.
Displaced by the ongoing conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, the families seek the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
(ICRC)
But what is of special interest to the international community is the weapons used on both sides – provided by various international players and provided a relevant window into the future of air warfare.
Despite denials from both Baku and Ankara, many in the international community have pointed the finger at Turkey on behalf of Azerbaijan and its longtime enemy Armenia, thus increasing the lethality and power of the conflict.
Satellite imagery released this week shows at least two F-16 Viper fighter jets – possibly from Ankara’s arsenal – appearing at Azerbaijan’s Ganja International Airport earlier this month. The Armenian Defense Ministry claimed last week that one of its Su-25 military jets was shot down by a Turkish F-16 departing from Azerbaijan; However, both Azerbaijan and Turkey have denied the declaration.
It is believed that Moscow is also playing something of a major part behind the scenes. While Russia has military and diplomatic relations with both sides, it is close to Armenia and has a base within the country.
But according to Seth Frantzmann, executive director of the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis, the ongoing cross-border fighting is being characterized by “unique types of combat” – the use of Azerbaijani armed drones against Armenian tanks, artillery. And military vehicles.
He said the U.S. Armed drones have been used in the global war on terror for decades, while the decision to deploy hundreds of new types of drones casts a shadow over the future of the war.
These “new types” are known as “suicide drones” or “lottery munitions” and operate by “swarming” enemy positions. Over the years, Frentzman noted, Azerbaijan has been acquiring them from Israel in addition to the Skystrikers of the Elbit Systems built in the Jewish state.
Baku is also believed to have collected an array of other drones – such as the Turkish TB2 Barracks, U.S. A scale-down rendition of the Ripper, which supplies fighters in Libya, Iraq and Syria.
Zara Amatuni, regional representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), insisted that heavy explosives – and attacks on civilian bodies – were pouring in from both sides.
“We are seeing a lot of civilian injuries, including children and the use of heavy explosive weapons,” he said on Thursday. “People are moving into shelters and basements that do not have sanitary conditions, and we are monitoring the problems with the onset of winter. Artillery fires have damaged hospitals and schools, and the threat of COVD is putting more strain on the health system.”
Amatuni also noted that while the mayhem has eased a bit, the “risk and intensity of instability” situation is strong.
The ICRC is calling for the immediate protection of civilian areas, obligations under international law.
A man speaks to his child, wounded during a shelling, in Stagenekart, Nagorno-Karabakh, the self-proclaimed Republic of Azerbaijan, Monday, September 28, 2020. A day before the Armenian and Azerbaijani clashes on the disputed separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh On Monday morning after the exit, both sides blamed each other for resuming the attacks. (Areg Balayan / Pan Photo by AP)
And when the United States chooses to fight in joint statements with France and Russia, such requests fall on deaf ears. The Pentagon and the U.S. The State Department has approved various aid packages to both sides of the conflict; Still, Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have blamed much of the blame for inciting and inciting war on Azerbaijan and NATO ally Turkey.
In a letter sent to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week, ranking member Sen. It was signed by Bob Menendez, DNJ, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, DNY, and 10 other Senate Democrats. Postpone security assistance to Baku and demand the withdrawal of NATO ally Turkey from the battlefield.
Canada has also announced it is cooling arms exports to Turkey, and Israel has indicated it will suspend pending commercial sales for further investigation.
Click here for the Fox News app
As it is, more than 250 people have been killed, and many more injured, in recent spots of violence. Extensive corrugated effect out of fear of hover, especially if Armenia hits oil and natural gas pipelines in Azerbaijan, which will send the effect of crude ripples through the Caucus when the winter frost is exposed.
However, Musayev’s choices paint a very different picture of who is to blame for the fight.
“Nagorno-Karabakh is a part of Azerbaijan. The international community should respect the right of these people to return home and the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,” he stressed. “We want nothing more than to restore our rights.”
