Azerbaijan troops are getting closer to the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh

A representative of the authorities of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh confirmed on Monday (November 9) that Azerbaijani troops had taken the important town of Shushi and were approaching the capital of the separatist enclave – Stepanakert.

“The series of misfortunes continues and Shushi is not under our control. We must hold on because the enemy is close to Stepanakert,” Wahram Pogossian, spokesman for the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh leader Arajik Harutiunian, wrote on Facebook on Monday (November 9). The Reuters agency obtained confirmation from Pogosjan that the entry is authentic.

Thus, the separatist authorities in Karabakh confirmed what they had previously denied – that Azerbaijani forces had seized Shushi, a city of strategic importance, located several kilometers from Stepanakert. Armenia’s authorities also denied on Sunday that the city had been seized by Azerbaijani troops.

In turn, the TASS agency quoted on Monday late afternoon the words of the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, published on Facebook, that “the fight for Shushi continues”.

On Sunday, the president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev announced the seizure of the city, which – as reported by the Reuters agency – was met with a euphoric reaction from Baku residents.

Shushi is located on a hill and conquering it would facilitate the planned offensive on Stepanakert by Azerbaijani forces.

Aliyev said on Monday in a Twitter post that Azerbaijani troops have regained control of 23 villages in the lands around Nagorno-Karabakh, previously controlled by Armenians.

Fighting for Nagorno-Karabakh broke out again on September 27, after about a quarter of a century of relative peace. Azerbaijan attacked the territory occupied by ethnic Armenians, claiming that there had been a provocation by the Armenian side earlier.

The internationally unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh is an Armenian enclave in the de jure territories of Azerbaijan. It is inhabited and until now has been completely controlled by Armenians. In the conflict over her in 1991-1994, about 30,000 people died. people.

Since the resumption of the acute phase of the conflict, ceasefire agreements between Armenia and Azerbaijan have already been announced three times. They did not turn out to be permanent, the parties almost immediately accused each other of breaking the provisions. Since the intensification of the fighting in September, more than 1,000 deaths have been recorded – soldiers and civilians.

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