Azerbaijani and Armenian forces have accused one another of restarting a decades-long conflict in the contested breakaway enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, as fresh violence ensued in the region on Sunday. Both sides openly resumed conflict, with violent outbreaks occurring through the night using heavy artillery. Officials from both sides, as well as those in Nagorno-Karabakh, have reported at least 23 military and civilian deaths and hundreds of casualties from the violence so far.
The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry said that their army is using missile systems, tanks, aircraft, and artillery against the Armenian positions at the front line, reporting the gunning down of 12 Armenian anti-aircraft systems and one Azeri helicopter. Armenian Defence Ministry spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan said that Yerevan’s forces had hit four Azeri helicopters, 15 drones, and 10 tanks.
This has been the deadliest standoff between the former Soviet states since 2016 and the second flare-up this year. The neighbours in the South Caucasus have been engaged in constant conflict over the disputed region since the fall of the Soviet Union. The war between ethnic Armenians and ethnic Azerbaijanis in the disputed territory lasted till around 1994, with both Baku and Yerevan continuing to hold claims over Nagorno-Karabakh. The situation worsened in the early 90s when the Autonomous Oblast of Nagorno-Karabakh voted to join Armenia, increasing violence and displacing thousands by 1992.
The violence was contained by a Russia-mediated ceasefire in 1994. After this, the independent enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh held a public referendum—that was boycotted by Azerbaijan—in which the people chose to be independent rather than joining either country. However, this has not deterred Azerbaijani and Armenian forces from engaging in frequent clashes at the bordering region, with the conflict reigniting in what is now known as the 2016 Four-Day War. In 2018, armed forces of both countries engaged in another violent clash at Gyunnut.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Nagorno-Karabakh President Arayik Harutyunyan have declared martial law in their respective regions, ordering a general mobilization. Pashinyan has accused Baku of “preplanned aggression”, while Aliyev, in a televised address, vowed to drive away Armenian troops, stating that Azeri troops will “put an end to this occupation.”
United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly Speaker George Tsereteli have strongly condemned the violence and called for an immediate ceasefire. “I call on both sides to cease hostilities in the interests of civilians who live in the area and recommit to negotiations under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group in pursuit of long-term resolution of the conflict,” Tsereteli said.
While the European Union, United States, Iran, Germany, the Vatican, and France have backed the stance taken by the international organizations and have offered to mediate the conflict, Ankara and Islamabad have vowed full support to Baku. Aliyev reportedly spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the phone, following which Erdogan called out the “double standards and insufficient reaction” against the attacks, stating that he was disappointed with the OSCE Minsk Group’s failure to resolve the issue for the past 30 years. The two countries’ defence ministers consulted with each other as well.
Simultaneously, Pashinyan held a phone call with allied Russian President Vladimir Putin. A Russian foreign ministry statement following the call revealed that the Kremlin was calling on both parties “to immediately halt fire and begin talks to stabilise the situation.” Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, is also reportedly “in intensive talks” with Turkey’s Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu to resume negotiations.
The conflict has the potential to add to the geostrategic tensions between Russia and Turkey as the two sides engage in proxy conflicts in Libya and Syria. While Moscow has a military base in Armenia and has signed a mutual-defence agreement with Yerevan, Baku held large-scale military exercises with Turkey’s troops just last month.
Fresh Clashes Erupt Between Armenia and Azerbaijan, At Least 23 Dead
The OSCE and the UN have called for an immediate ceasefire in the contested breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
September 28, 2020
Armenian citizens mobilize to recruit military volunteers in the capital Yerevan on Sunday. SOURCE: MELIK BAGHDASARYAN/REUTERS