Nagorno Karabakh, war between Armenia and Azerbaijan: dead and wounded

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, who urged may his people be ready to defend the sacred homeland – instead indicated that the enemy has launched an offensive against Srtsaj, the Armenian name for the self-proclaimed republic of Nagorno Karabakh. Defense forces are successfully resisting the offensive, Pashinyan explained on Facebook. Meanwhile, Armenian separatists in the autonomous region of Azerbaijan have declared martial law and general mobilization., followed immediately by Pashinyan himself. Based on the current situation, an extraordinary meeting of the National Assembly has been called. After speaking with the legislators, I announce that I have declared martial law and a large-scale mobilization of people over 18 years of agesaid the leader of the separatist republic Arayik Harutyunyan. However, according to the Azerbaijani army, there would be no need for a full military mobilization, as the troops would be more than sufficient.

Different from the version provided by Baku, which would have the operation launched in retaliation for the activities carried out by Armenians in the region. At 6 a.m. M. (Local time, 4 a.m. In Italy, ed), Armenian forces carried out a large-scale provocation by subjecting heavy bombardment with large-caliber weapons, mortars and artillery of the Azerbaijani army positions along the front and our villages in the border area, the Armenian Defense Ministry said in a statement. In order to suppress the combat activity of the Armenian armed forces and ensure the safety of the civilian population, the Azerbaijani army command has decided to launch a counter-offensive operation across the front. In the course of the offensive, 12 batteries of Armenian anti-aircraft missile systems were reportedly destroyed, while the losses, according to Baku, would be limited to a single helicopter, whose crew would escape unscathed.

Nagorno Karabakh is a secessionist region of Azerbaijan, populated mainly by Armenians and supported by Yerevan: it has about 143 thousand inhabitants in an area less than half the size of Sardinia. After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Armenian separatists took control, in a movement supported by Yerevan, unleashing a war that caused 30,000 deaths and thousands of displaced. To promote a negotiated solution to the conflict, in 1994 the so-called Minsk Group was established, co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France, which also includes Germany, Belarus, Finland, Italy, Sweden and Turkey, as well as Armenia and Azerbaijan and the OECD Troika, countries representing the current, previous and next presidencies . Peace talks have been blocked for many years.. In 2016, the serious clashes almost turned into a war in the region, and in July 2020 there were also clashes between Armenians and Azeris on the northern border that caused at least 16 victims.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev has threatened Armenia with retaliation for its aggressive behavior, referring to the July clashes, and has accused Yerevan of deliberately causing the failure of the peace negotiations. Baku’s Defense Ministry also warned that Armenia is preparing tens of thousands of single-target men to attack Azerbaijan. Meanwhile in the morning Russia has asked Armenia and Azerbaijan for an immediate ceasefire. We call on the parties to stop the fire immediately and start negotiations to stabilize the situationreads a note from the Moscow Foreign Ministry, for which heavy bombardments are being carried out along the line of contact between the two former Soviet republics.

Shortly after also came turkey’s reaction, which has ordered Armenia to immediately cease hostilities against Azerbaijan, which inflame the region, and offered all his support to Baku. The biggest obstacle to peace and stability in the Caucasus, Ankara Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said, the hostile position of Armenia, which must immediately reverse. The President of the European Council Charles Michel defined the news of grave concern. Military action must be stopped urgently to prevent further escalation. An immediate return to negotiations, without preconditions, the only way to go, Michel wrote in a tweet.