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Yerevan (AFP)
The Azerbaijani forces are located a few kilometers from the strategic city of Shusha in Nagorno Karabakh, the head of this separatist region announced on Thursday, where clashes have continued since the end of September between Azerbaijan and Armenian separatists.
Araik Harutyunyan said in a video posted on Facebook that “the enemy is a few kilometers from Shusha, five kilometers maximum,” adding that “the main objective of the enemy is to invade Shusha (…) and whoever controls it will control Artsakh.” , referring to the Armenian nomenclature of the Nagorno Karabakh region.
Shusha is located about 15 kilometers from Stepanakert, the main city of the region, on a road that connects it with Armenia.
Shusha’s control, located on a hill, allows you to target Stepanakert.
“In the coming days, the situation at the front must be reversed and the enemy must be punished directly at the gates of Shusha,” Harutyunyan said in a video clip taken near a historic Armenian cathedral located in this city. He added, “Let’s unite and fight together!”
Since the outbreak of fighting on September 27, Azerbaijani forces have reclaimed land that was beyond their control since the 1990s, when a war between the two sides broke out that left 30,000 dead and led to the region’s secession. predominantly Armenian from Nagorno-Karah.
This Armenian-backed region declared its independence after the 1994 war, but was not recognized by either the international community or Armenia.
– “Wild and unreasonable” –
Nagorno-Karabakh authorities on Thursday accused Azerbaijani forces of launching a large-scale bombardment of Stepanakert, which had been hit by projectiles since the fighting returned.
“Azerbaijan targeted (the city) for several hours, and dozens of shells landed on it,” said a senior local official, Artak Beglarian, referring to “injured civilians.”
This occurs the day after the Azerbaijani city of Barda, a city near Nagorno Karabakh, was attacked. Baku accused the Armenian army of killing 21 people in the attack and wounding dozens. Five civilians died Tuesday night.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev took an oath of “revenge” and “retribution in the field”.
For its part, Armenia denied being responsible for the attack on Barda.
On Thursday, Amnesty International accused all parties to the conflict – “the Armenian forces, those supported by Armenia and the Azerbaijani forces” – of using cluster munitions despite their ban.
“The shelling of populated areas with cluster munitions is brutal and unreasonable,” said the organization’s director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Mary Struthers.
On both sides, more than 1,250 people, including at least 130 civilians, died during the ongoing clashes, the highest number since the 1990s, according to partial results.
On Thursday, Azerbaijan announced the return to Armenia of the bodies of 30 soldiers who had died in the clashes.
Hikmat Hajiyev, an adviser to the Azerbaijani president, said that “Armenia did not show good faith in this matter”, but “agreed to open a humanitarian corridor” thanks to Russian mediation.
Armenian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan confirmed the transfer of the bodies via Russia and the Red Cross, adding that Yerevan was ready to return the bodies of Azerbaijani soldiers.
A meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries was expected to be held in Geneva on Thursday, but the meeting has been postponed to Friday and will not be direct between them, according to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.
© 2020 AFP
