There are armed clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh



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Armed clashes have been taking place for several hours in Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory in the southern Caucasus, disputed by Armenia and Azerbaijan, two states that were part of the Soviet Union until 1991.

According to the Armenian government, the clashes began after bombardments by Azerbaijani forces that caused deaths and injuries and to which the Armenian army responded by hitting two helicopters, three drones and three tanks. However, the Azerbaijani government accused Armenia of initiating the fighting and spoke of deaths and injuries. Meanwhile, the separatist government of Nagorno-Karabakh, backed by Armenia, withdrew the reservists and announced martial law. On Sunday afternoon, Azerbaijan said, through its Defense Ministry, that it had recovered “several villages that had been under occupation by Armenia for years”; however, the Armenian Defense Ministry denied it.

Nagorno-Karabakh, which declared itself independent in the 1990s, is an inland, mountainous area of ​​Azerbaijan, which is however inhabited mainly by Armenians and is therefore supported by Armenia. The population of Nagorno-Karabakh is overwhelmingly Armenian and Christian, but until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh was in the orbit of the Azerbaijani Muslim Soviet Socialist Republic.

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The Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh voted for independence in December 1991, with a referendum boycotted by the Azerbaijani inhabitants of the region: Nagorno-Karabakh has since been defined as an independent state (but is not internationally recognized).

However, immediately after the declaration of independence, fighting began between Azerbaijanis and Armenians for control of the area. Between 1992 and 1994, Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a war in which some 30,000 people died and millions became refugees. The war ended with a rather precarious truce, and in recent years there has been much talk about the confrontations between the two countries. Before today, the most intense had been in 2016, but by July at least 16 people had died in other clashes on the border of the disputed territory.

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Azerbaijan, historically close to Turkey, is a much larger and more populous state than Armenia (the former has more than 9 million inhabitants, the latter less than 3) and, thanks to its many natural resources, even richer. In the past, however, Armenia has often been able to count on Russia’s support.

After the clashes this morning, Russia has called for an immediate “ceasefire”. Instead, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed his support for Azerbaijan, calling Armenia “the greatest threat to peace and tranquility in the area.”



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