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Armenia claimed on Saturday that Azerbaijani ground forces had again attacked the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Later, they published a list on the government’s website with a list of 51 names of people who have died in clashes.
Both countries said Saturday night that fighting is raging in the area. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev says they have seized a village and the Armenian Defense Ministry says there will be war across the front.
It is the town of Madagiz, believed to be of strategic importance, of which the president said they have taken control.
With the 51 new deaths that Armenia reported on Saturday, there are a total of at least 240 deaths recorded on both sides of the conflict so far.
Shooting controversy
Shushan Stepanian, a spokesman for the Armenian Defense Ministry, also said that Armenian forces had shot down three aircraft. Furthermore, the Armenian forces are said to have repulsed a “massive” attack from Azerbaijan. According to the spokesman, they allegedly caused casualties in Azerbaijan and destroyed military equipment.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry denies that any aircraft were shot down and at the same time accuses Armenia of having bombed civilian areas.
Nagorno-Karabakh, which is less than half the size of Rogaland County and has about 150,000 inhabitants, has been controlled by Armenian separatists since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.
The separatists, who also control large areas around the enclave, have the open support of Armenia, but the world community recognizes the region as part of Azerbaijan.
Sustained speech
Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pasjinian said earlier on Sunday that the country faces what may be the most crucial moment in the country’s history.
“Dear fellow citizens, brothers and sisters, we face what is possibly the most crucial moment in our millennial history,” Pashinyan said in a televised address.
– We must all dedicate ourselves to one goal: victory, said the Prime Minister.
