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Armenia declared martial law and mobilized the military in the reserve, this Sunday, after tension increased with Azerbaijan’s neighbors due to the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, an ethnic Armenian territory located within the borders of Azerbaijan that declared independence in 1991.
“All men must report to the police stations in their districts, for our country and for victory. By decision of the government, martial law and general mobilization were declared in the Republic of Armenia, ”announced the Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan.
The Armenian government has accused Azerbaijan of launching an airstrike and artillery fire on the enclave, an accusation that the Azerbaijani authorities reject and return to its neighbors, accusing them of being the first to attack the Azerbaijani troops.
In Armenia, human rights activists said a woman and child were killed by Azeri fire. On the other hand, Azerbaijan says several civilians were killed and six injured in the clash. In the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, where the authorities have also declared martial law, 10 soldiers have been killed.
According to Reuters, none of the information provided by the three parties has been independently confirmed.
The Russian Foreign Ministry, which has acted as a mediator in the conflict between the Armenian Christian majority and the Azeri Muslim majority, has called on both sides to end the fighting and start talks.
The French Foreign Ministry, through its spokesperson, Agnes von der Muhll, was also “extremely concerned about the clashes.” And she asked for the immediate cessation of hostilities and the start of talks.
In addition to Russia, France and the United States of America are part of the Minsk Group, responsible for mediating the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The Nagorno-Karabakh territory is the main focus of tensions between the two countries, and it became more acute when the territory declared its independence from Azerbaijan, at the same time as the collapse of the former Soviet Union.
Despite a ceasefire agreed in 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia accuse each other of launching attacks in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and along the border between the two countries.
The conflict worries western and neighboring countries in the region because it may destabilize the situation in the southern Caucasus, which serves as a corridor for the oil and gas pipelines that supply world markets.
Armenia’s Defense Ministry said its troops destroyed three tanks and shot down two helicopters and three unmanned drones in response to an attack on civilian targets in the Nagorno-Karabakh capital, Stepanakert.
“Our response will be proportionate, and the political and military leadership of Azerbaijan bears full responsibility in this situation,” said the Armenian Defense Ministry.
Azerbaijan returns the charge, saying that the Armenian forces launched “deliberate attacks and precise targets” on the front line, when the situation was being controlled by the Azeris.
“We defend our territory, our cause and our rights,” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in a statement broadcast across the country.
In July, 16 people were killed in clashes between the two parties, and in April 2016 at least 200 people were killed.
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