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Armenia announces general mobilization after intense fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh
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Skirmishes with Azerbaijan – Armenia declares martial law
In the conflictive region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the southern Caucasus, intense fighting broke out between the warring countries Azerbaijan and Armenia. Armenia later imposed martial law.
The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan returned to a critical point after heavy fighting broke out in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in the southern Caucasus. Therefore, Armenia has imposed martial law. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas seeks a solution through the OSCE.
men the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict region in the southern Caucasus, according to information from both sides, intense fighting broke out between the warring countries Azerbaijan and Armenia. The capital, Stepanakert, had been bombed, people should be safe, Nagorno-Karabakh authorities announced on Sunday. Numerous houses in towns were destroyed. Soldiers in the South Caucasus region are said to be numerous wounded and around 10 dead.
The pro-Armenian rebels have declared martial law in the region and announced a general mobilization. All adults would be called to arms, Nagorno-Karabakh President Araik Harutjunjan said at an emergency session of the regional parliament on Sunday.
Armenia itself also proclaimed general mobilization and martial law. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan asked his compatriots in a Facebook post on Sunday to be ready to defend the “Holy Fatherland.” “Martial law and general mobilization are ordered in Armenia. I ask all personnel to report to the military police station, ”continued Pashinyan.
The volunteers gathered in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, after the government called for a general mobilization.
What: REUTERS
On its official Twitter channel, the Armenian government broadcast a video of the President of Nagorno-Karabakh, Harutjunyan, in military uniform, mobilizing. Meanwhile, Russia called for an immediate ceasefire in the region. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is holding intense talks to persuade the warring parties to stop the fire in the conflict region, an authority announced in Moscow on Sunday.
Blame both sides
Both sides blamed each other for the fighting. The shelling started early in the morning from the Azerbaijani side, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote on Facebook. “All responsibility for this rests with the political-military leadership of Azerbaijan,” said the spokeswoman for the Armenian Defense Ministry.
DWO_AP_BergKarabach_js_mku-01_
Source: WORLD infographic
Yerevan shot down two helicopters and combat drones. Three enemy tanks were hit. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry rejected this information. However, in a televised speech, President Ilham Aliyev said there had been “losses among Azerbaijani troops and civilians as a result of the Armenian bombardment.”
Aliyev spoke of a military operation designed to defend against Armenian aggression. “The Azerbaijani army is carrying out attacks against the enemy’s military positions,” Aliyev said in Baku. The military operation is a reaction to the continuous provocations of Armenia. The Defense Ministry said Sunday afternoon that it had retaken seven villages in the conflict area.
Turkey is on the side of Azerbaijan
Turkey immediately sided with Azerbaijan. Ruling AKP party spokesman Ömer Celik “vehemently condemned Armenia’s attack on Azerbaijan” on Twitter. That is another Armenian provocation. Turkey will support Azerbaijan, he said, adding: “Armenia is playing with fire and endangering regional peace.”
Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin also accused Armenia on Twitter of violating the ceasefire “by targeting civilian settlements.” As a sister state, Turkey is on the side of Azerbaijan, which is also Islamic. Turkey’s relationship with Armenia is strained because the Turkish government refuses to this day to recognize the genocide of the Armenians in the First World War as such.
Heiko Maas wants to resolve the conflict through the OSCE
Federal Chancellor Heiko Maas (SPD) has expressed alarm at the outbreak of military conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. “The news of new and massive clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan along the entire conflict line alarms me,” Maas said in Berlin on Sunday. “I call on both parties to the conflict to immediately stop all fighting and, in particular, the bombing of towns and cities,” he said.
The conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region can only be resolved through negotiations. The Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) with its three Co-Chairs is ready for this. Armenia and Azerbaijan must “stop the violent acts immediately and embark on substantial negotiations,” Maas said.
There has been a ceasefire in the region since 1994
The Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is controlled by Armenia, is part of the Islamic region of Azerbaijan under international law. Baku lost control of the Christian Armenian-inhabited area of Karabakh in a war that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union.
There has been a ceasefire in the region since 1994, but it has been repeatedly broken. In July there was intense fighting on the border between the republics at war; however, the fighting took place hundreds of kilometers north of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia depends on Russia as a protective power, which has stationed thousands of soldiers and weapons there.
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