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Nagorno-Karabakh is not calm: even a week after the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan broke out again, the fighting continued. Armenia spoke of a “large-scale attack” by Azerbaijani troops.
Despite international calls on the parties to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh to end the violence, the fierce fighting for the Caucasus region continued.
The Armenian Defense Ministry spoke of “fierce fighting” at the front. Azerbaijani troops had advanced “with strong units” from both the north and south, but troops from the predominantly Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh had stopped the “large-scale attack” by the Azerbaijani army.
Plane down?
At one point from the front, the Armenian side had “fought back.” Three Azerbaijani fighter jets were shot down. The information could not be confirmed by an independent source, Azerbaijan denied the downing of the plane.
According to the Armenian representation, Azerbaijan has also attracted additional forces to the conflict zone. Baku did not initially confirm this.
Shooting at Stepanakert
On the seventh day of the fighting, shots were heard again in Stepanakert, the capital of the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, according to reporters from the AFP news agency. The Nagorno-Karabakh authorities said the “final battle” for the region had begun.
On Friday, the Azerbaijani army destroyed several buildings in Stepanakert with heavy artillery fire.
The fights have been going on for a week.
For almost a week, the two neighboring warring countries, Armenia and Azerbaijan, have fought tough battles in the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. The fighting goes far beyond the skirmishes that have taken place recently in the region.
Since the fighting began last Sunday, there have only been incomplete reports on the number of victims. According to Armenian sources, more than 200 people died. Azerbaijan, on the other hand, recently reported only 19 civilians killed and 60 injured.
Little prospect of negotiations
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused Armenia of obstructing negotiations to resolve the conflict. In an interview with Al Jazeera television, he said that the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the “occupied territories” of his country was a “precondition” for a ceasefire.
The presidents of Russia, the United States and France only issued a joint statement on Thursday condemning the military violence in the Caucasus region. The three called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to stop fighting immediately and respect the ceasefire. Hostile neighbors should initiate diplomatic negotiations mediated by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), hence the call.
The two former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been fighting for decades over the mountainous region, which is home to some 145,000 people. The self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh is not internationally recognized. The area is controlled by Armenia, but according to international law it belongs to Islamic Azerbaijan. In a war that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union some 30 years ago, Azerbaijan lost control of the region. Today it is inhabited by Armenian Christians from Karabakh. Since 1994 there has been a fragile ceasefire.
