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YEREVAN / BAKU: At least 16 military personnel and several civilians were killed on Sunday (September 27) in the most intense clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan since 2016, rekindling concerns about stability in the southern Caucasus, a corridor of oil pipelines that carry oil. and gas to world markets. .
The clashes between the two former Soviet republics, which fought a war in the 1990s, were the latest outbreak of a long-running conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a separatist region that is within Azerbaijan but is run by ethnic Armenians. .
Nagorno-Karabakh said 16 of its military were killed and more than 100 injured after Azerbaijan launched an air and artillery strike on Sunday morning. Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh declared martial law and mobilized the male population.
Azerbaijan, which also declared martial law, said its forces responded to the Armenian bombardment and that five members of a family had been killed by Armenian bombings.
He also said that his forces had taken control of up to seven villages. Nagorno-Karabakh initially denied this, but later acknowledged losing “some positions” and said it had suffered several civilian casualties, without giving details.
The clashes sparked a wave of diplomacy to reduce new tensions in a decades-long conflict between Armenia’s Christian majority and mainly Muslim Azerbaijan, with Russia calling for an immediate ceasefire and another regional power, Turkey, saying it would support Azerbaijan.
A still image from a video released by the Armenian Defense Ministry shows what are said to be Azerbaijani armored vehicles, one of which was destroyed by the Armenian armed forces in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, in this still image image published on September 27, 2020. (Photo: Ministry of Defense of Armenia / Brochure via REUTERS)
The US State Department condemned the violence in a statement, calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities and any rhetoric or other actions that could make matters worse.
The pipelines that send Caspian oil and natural gas from Azerbaijan to the world pass near Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia also warned of security risks in the South Caucasus in July after Azerbaijan threatened to attack Armenia’s nuclear power plant in possible retaliation.
Nagorno-Karabakh was separated from Azerbaijan in a conflict that erupted when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
Although a ceasefire was agreed in 1994, after thousands of people died and many more were displaced, Azerbaijan and Armenia are frequently accused of attacks around Nagorno-Karabakh and along the separate Azerbaijani-Armenian border.
In Sunday’s clashes, right-wing Armenian activists said an ethnic Armenian woman and child had also been killed.
INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY
Armenia said Azeri forces had attacked civilian targets, including the Nagorno-Karabakh capital Stepanakert, and promised a “proportionate response”.
“We stand strong alongside our military to protect our homeland from the Azeri invasion,” Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote on Twitter.
Azerbaijan denied a statement from the Armenian defense ministry saying that Azeri helicopters and tanks had been destroyed and accused the Armenian forces of launching “deliberate and targeted” attacks along the front line.
“We defend our territory, our cause is right!” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in a speech to the nation.
A still image from a video released by the Armenian Defense Ministry shows what are said to be Azerbaijani tanks and service members during an attack in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region, in this still from footage released on September 27, 2020 (Photo: Ministry of Defense of Armenia / Brochure via REUTERS)
Turkey said it was talking to members of the Minsk group, which mediates between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Russia, France and the United States are co-chairs.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with Pashinyan, but no details of the conversation were available, and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Aliyev.
Erdogan, who pledged support to Azerbaijan’s traditional ally, said Armenia was “the greatest threat to peace in the region” and called for “the whole world to support Azerbaijan in its battle against invasion and cruelty.”
Pashinyan responded and urged the international community to ensure that Turkey does not get involved in the conflict.
The European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) urged both sides to stop military actions and return to negotiations, as did Pope Francis.
At least 200 people were killed in an outbreak of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in April 2016. At least 16 people died in clashes in July.
