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Battles continue today between Armenian separatists and Azerbaijani forces in Nagorno Karabakh, despite international calls for a ceasefire, while authorities in the disputed region warned that the “last battle” had begun.
After Azerbaijan repeatedly bombed Stepanakert, the night was quieter in the largest city of Karabakh on Friday, but Armenian authorities and separatists reported violent battles on the front line.
So far, neither side has made decisive progress over the other on the sixth day of clashes, but the pressure is intensifying in Nagorno Karabakh, where the shelling has hit several cities and towns in recent days. On Friday, Azerbaijani forces shelled Stepanakert, using heavy artillery for the first time, damaging several buildings.
Nelson Adamian (65 years old) told “Agence France Presse”, while the neighbors around him were about to remove the rubble: “I left my house and after five or ten minutes there was an explosion. Fortunately there was nobody in home”.
An AFP correspondent reported hearing shots again before noon.
The majority-Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh region declared secession from Azerbaijan in the early 1990s, leading to a war that killed 30,000 people. No peace agreement was signed between the two sides, although the front has been almost frozen since then, but it witnessed clashes from time to time.
‘Heroic resistance’
Armenian army spokesman Artsron Hovanesyan said on “Facebook”: The enemy has deployed reinforced forces. Our soldiers are showing heroic resistance “, emphasizing that” fierce battles are still being fought. “
The head of the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities, Araik Harutyunyan, expressed the same concern, as he told reporters that “the nation and the homeland are in danger”, expressing his determination to go to the front. He said, “It is time for the entire nation to become one strong army. This is our last battle and we will definitely win it.”
On the other hand, the Azerbaijani army declared in a statement the control of the separatist positions and the “cleaning of the areas of the enemy forces”.
Since the fighting began on Sunday, only partial data on the death toll has been released, based on a total of 191 Karabakh soldiers, 14 Armenian civilians and 19 Azerbaijani civilians killed, as Baku does not announce its losses.
On the other hand, each of the two camps announces victories, which the other denies, and reports that hundreds of enemy soldiers have died. Armenians confirm the killing of more than 3,000 Azerbaijani soldiers since the start of the fighting on Sunday, while Baku announces the killing of 2,300 Armenian soldiers.
Foreign powers express their “concern”
The two parties to the conflict ignored calls from the international community for a ceasefire, the latest of which was the demand of the United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, for an “immediate cessation of hostilities.”
For the first time, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed “grave concern” over reports of participation by “fighters from illegal armed groups from the Middle East”, sent by Turkey.
Also, the foreign minister of neighboring Iran, Mohammad Javad Zarif, expressed his “concern” during a call with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.
And French President Emmanuel Macron had previously confirmed that 300 fighters from “jihadist groups” in Syria headed to Turkey and from there to Azerbaijan, saying that “a red line had been crossed.”
And Russia reported similar information without directly blaming Ankara, with which it has a complex but pragmatic relationship.
Despite Baku’s refusals and Ankara’s lack of silence on this issue, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that at least 28 Syrian militants loyal to Ankara, fighting with Azerbaijani forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, had been killed. since the beginning of the confrontations with the Armenian separatists.
