Fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region continued this morning. Both sides have deployed heavy artillery and are accusing each other of attacking.
According to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, Armenian forces are trying to regain lost ground by launching attacks near the cities of Füzuli, Cebrayil, Martakert and Terter. On Sunday, Azerbaijan reported that the seven villages in Nagorno-Karabakh. Fighters from the region have reportedly tried to retake the areas without success.
Azerbaijan also says the Armenian army is targeting the Dashkasan region with air strikes. That region is located in the border area of both countries, far from Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia denies that it attacked Dashkasan, stating that fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh continued throughout the night and that the army there repelled several attacks. According to Armenia, Azerbaijan has carried out an attack in the Armenian border town of Vardenis. A bus would have caught fire.
Independent state
Nagorno-Karabakh, in the South Caucasus, is officially a region of Azerbaijan whose population is ethnically and religiously related to Turkey. De facto, ethnic Armenians have an independent state there, with the support of Armenia. It emerged after a war after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. The area is not internationally recognized as independent.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan got involved in the conflict yesterday, by calling on the Armenians to end the “occupation of Azerbaijani territory” and to leave. Incidentally, the armed forces of oil-rich Azerbaijan are much stronger than those of impoverished Armenia.
United States Secretary-General Guterres has called on both countries to immediately cease fighting. The issue is being discussed today by the UN Security Council. Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, is an ally of the predominantly Christian Armenia.
The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the region has claimed the lives of dozens of soldiers since it flared up again on Sunday. Hundreds have been injured. According to Azerbaijan, ten Azerbaijani civilians have died.
Officially, a truce has been in effect since 1994, but the file has been violated several times. That happened for the last time in 2016, when about a hundred people were killed on both sides.
Pictures from yesterday:
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