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Armenian separatists in the Nagorno-Karabakh region report that 16 of their officials have been killed and more than 100 injured after clashes between separatists and Azerbaijani forces.
Reports sources in the region to Reuters.
Nagorno-Karabakh separatists declared full military mobilization on Sunday and called on the population to prepare for war. According to the DPA news agency, all residents over the age of 18 have been told to prepare for war.
Armenian separatists, who have controlled the enclave since 1994 and want to incorporate the region into Armenia, announced on Sunday morning that Azerbaijani forces had bombed both the front line and the city of Stepanakert.
The separatists also said they had shot down two Azerbaijani helicopter gunships after the shelling began. Azerbaijani authorities have imposed a state of emergency and a curfew in several regions following the hostilities, Reuters reports.
Several international actors have come out to condemn the fighting and have called for an immediate ceasefire. The EU came out more recently and asked the parties to come to the negotiating table.
Both sides blame each other, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has stated on Facebook that the attack started from the Azerbaijani side.
“All responsibility for this lies with the Azerbaijani side,” said a spokesman for the Armenian Defense Ministry.
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DESTROYED: A blanket of smoke surrounds what is supposed to be an Azerbaijani tank in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Photo: Reuters
– Civil loss
A few hours later, the separatist presidency declared full military mobilization and announced that it was now the laws of war in the region that were being applied.
The Azerbaijani government, for its part, said that the Armenian separatists attacked first and that it was a counterattack. Both parties have also reported the loss of civilian life.
There have been reports of deaths and injuries among civilians and soldiers, stated in a message from the president’s office in Azerbaijan.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pasjinian calls for unity and fighting spirit.
– Let’s stand behind our state, our army and we will win. Long live the Armenian army, he wrote in a message on Facebook.
CLAIMS OF HAVING BEEN ATTACKED: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pasjinian says Azerbaijan launched airstrikes against the region. Photo: Alexei Druzhinin / Satellite Pool Kremlin
Years of conflict
Separatists control the predominantly Armenian enclave, but it is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
“The international community has never recognized that Armenia has the right to control Nagorno-Karabakh and, according to international law, it is Azerbaijan that will really control the area,” said Berit Lindeman, head of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. in the Norwegian Helsinki Committee to VG.
She has lived and worked for periods in Azerbaijan and is an expert on the human rights situation in the country.
KNOWLEDGE OF AZERBAIJAN: Berit Lindeman is Head of Department for Eastern Europe and Central Asia in the Helsinki Committee and describes the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh as “locked in”. Photo: Norwegian Helsinki Committee
From 1988 to 1994, Nagorno-Karabakh was hit by a war with ethnic Armenians backed by Armenia on the one hand and Azerbaijani forces supported by Chechen and Afghan fighters on the other.
Lindeman says the area has long been controversial and that there have been sharp fronts between the two countries since the war ended.
– It is an extremely stagnant situation and it has been completely impossible to reach a negotiated solution, he says.
The Azerbaijani expert says it will be exciting to see what happens next.
– The possibility of a full-scale war is great and both sides have improved, says Lindeman.
SPEECHES: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev delivered a speech on Sunday on the outbreak of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Armenian separatists are said to have shot down two Azerbaijani helicopter gunships. Photo: Azerbaijani Presidential Press Office / AP
Turkey supports Azerbaijan
Several countries are reacting strongly to the escalation of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Both the EU and France and Russia have called on the parties to sign a ceasefire.
– I call on the parties to the conflict to immediately stop all hostile actions, especially grenade attacks against towns and cities, says German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.
Pope Francis has also called for an end to the fighting and has expressed great concern about the violent development.
Turkey, traditionally considered a close ally of Azerbaijan, for its part took a hard line against the Armenian separatists.
“We will support our Azerbaijani brothers with all our means in their fight to protect their territorial integrity,” said Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar.
SUPPORTS Azerbaijan: Minister of Defense of Turkey, Hulusi Akar. Photo: Turkish Ministry of Defense
Accused of ethnic cleansing
The six-year war began after a newly formed assembly in the enclave declared that it would join Armenia in 1988. Most of the inhabitants are Armenian Christians.
The decision was condemned by the Azerbaijani minority in the enclave, most of whom are Muslims. In a subsequent referendum, the majority of the region’s residents voted for independence.
This sparked clashes between the two ethnic groups, where both accused each other of ethnic cleansing.
With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, a full-scale war broke out. With the support of Armenia, the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh managed to take full control of the region and several surrounding regions. About 800,000 Azerbaijanis were forced to flee.
