[ad_1]
A new round of military escalation broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia today, Sunday, in the disputed Nagorno Karabakh region, when Armenian separatists declared a state of war and general mobilization, while the Azerbaijani side confirmed civilian and military deaths, in amidst accusations that the two sides exchanged accusations of starting the fighting.
Aryk Artunyan, head of the Armenian separatist administration called “Nagorno Karabakh”, declared a state of war and general mobilization throughout the region.
He said during an emergency session of Parliament in the provincial capital, Stepanakert (Khankendi, after his Azerbaijani name) that he had decided to declare martial law and mobilize all healthy men over 18 years of age.
He added that the Armenian side did not want the war that Azerbaijan would draw it into, as he himself put it, blaming the President of Azerbaijan for “the humanitarian disaster that will befall the region as a result of the war.”
Artunyan stated that civilian facilities were severely damaged as a result of the Azerbaijani bombardment, which, according to preliminary data, killed a woman and her child, he said.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said early in the morning that Azerbaijan attacked civilian areas in the region. “Let us strongly support our country and our military … and we will prevail,” Pashinyan later said on Facebook.
Target helicopters and drones
The Armenian Defense Ministry announced that its forces shot down two military helicopters and 3 drones for Azerbaijan in response to this attack, noting that its sites in Nagorno Karabakh have been exposed to air and missile strikes in recent days. She said The Armenian administration in the region, the Azerbaijani army began on Sunday morning to bombard the demarcation line and civilian targets, including the provincial capital.
For its part, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in a statement that the Armenian army was the one that launched “a large-scale provocation operation in the early hours of the morning, firing light and heavy weapons at Azeri military and civilian sites” .
The statement stated that the Armenian fire caused casualties among the civilian population and caused extensive damage to civil infrastructure in several villages that were subjected to heavy bombardment.
He explained that the Azerbaijani army decided to launch a counterattack along the front line to respond to what it called Armenian provocations, in order to protect civilians in the region.
The statement indicated that Azerbaijani forces destroyed several Armenian military facilities and vehicles deep in the front line, including 12 “OSA” anti-aircraft missile systems (OSA).
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry acknowledged that the Armenian army shot down a military helicopter near the “Tartar” site in the region, but confirmed the survival of the helicopter crew.
dead and wounded
The Al-Jazeera correspondent said that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev confirmed that there were deaths and injuries as a result of the Armenian bombardment of residential areas adjacent to the ceasefire line. The presidency said in a statement that “there are reports of civilian and military deaths and injuries.”
Armenia and Azerbaijan are locked in a decades-long conflict over the Nagorno Karabakh region in southwestern Azerbaijan, which was controlled by Armenian separatists during a war in the 1990s that killed 30,000 people.
Russian and Turkish interaction
On the other hand, Russia called on the two sides to stop fighting and said in a statement from the Foreign Ministry: “We call on the two sides for an immediate ceasefire and the start of talks to restore stability.”
For its part, Turkey strongly condemned the Armenian attack on the Azeri regions, and Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement that this attack was a “clear violation of international law”, and that with this attack in which civilians were killed, Armenia proved that it is “the greatest obstacle to peace and stability in the region.” As he put it.
The statement added that Azerbaijan will use its right of self-defense to protect its people and territorial integrity, and that Turkey offers its full support and will stand behind it.
[ad_2]
