Jakarta, CNN Indonesia –
The battle between Azerbaijan with its breakaway territory, Nagorny-Karabakh, supported by Armenia, got more heated after the announcement of the military deployment of the two parties.
At least 23 people died in the fighting. The two sides also mutually claim that their civilians were killed in the attacks. Observers predict the Caucasus region is now on the brink of a major war.
Quoted from AFPAccording to the Presidency of Karabakh, the escalation of the conflict between the two sides began when Azerbaijan began active bombing along the Karabakh frontline on Sunday (27/9) morning. The targets were civilian areas, including the region’s main city, Stepanakert.
The rebels said 16 Armenian separatist fighters were killed and more than 100 wounded in the fighting. One woman and an ethnic Armenian child were reportedly killed.
“According to preliminary data, 16 (Karabakh) soldiers were killed and more than 100 wounded,” said the rebel defense ministry.
They also claim to have shot down two Azerbaijani helicopters and three drones.
President Karabakh Araik Harutyunyan, at an emergency parliamentary meeting in Stepanakert, also declared “martial law and total military mobilization”.
“I declare martial law” and the mobilization of all those who fall into the military service category who are over 18 years of age, he said.
Harutyunyan also accused Turkey of sending mercenaries to Azerbaijan.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also condemned the Azerbaijani attack.
“The authoritarian regime of Azerbaijan has once again declared war on the Armenian people,” he said, in a televised address.
“We are on the brink of a full scale war in the South Caucasus, which may have unforeseen consequences,” he said.
Through his Faceboook account, Pashinyan also called for “Get ready to defend our holy homeland”.
Armenian defense ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan claimed Karabakh rebel forces killed “about 200 Azerbaijani soldiers and destroyed 30 enemy artillery units and 20 drones”.
On the other hand, Azerbaijan accused Armenian forces of violating the ceasefire.
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said it was launching “a counterattack to suppress Armenian combat activity and ensure the safety of the population” using tanks, artillery missiles, warplanes and drones.
Azerbaijan has also imposed martial law and a curfew on major cities.
Azerbaijan’s presidential spokesman Hikmet Hajiyev said “Martial law will be imposed at midnight as well as a curfew from 9pm to 6am,” in Baku (the capital), several cities and other districts close to the Karabakh front line.
The Baku party also claimed the casualties from civilians. A family of five is said to have been killed in a shooting launched by Armenian separatist forces on Sunday (27/9).
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Photo: Astari Kusumawardhani- – |
“As a result of artillery fire [pemberontak Karabakh] a family of five died in the village of Gashalty, “according to an official statement from the Azerbaijan Attorney General’s office.
The foreign ministry of Azerbaijan also reported “severe damage to many houses and civilian infrastructure” resulting in casualties and injuries.
Hajiyev also claimed his side had captured the strategic 3,000-meter-high Murovdag peak in Karabakh.
The mountain is strategic, the presidency said, because it helps control communication and transportation between Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, and an Armenian-controlled enclave.
In a televised speech to the country on Sunday (27/9) morning, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev vowed to defeat the Armenian forces.
“Our aim is fair and we will win,” he said, “Karabakh is Azerbaijan.”
In response to this armed conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the matter with Pashinyan and called for “ending hostilities”.
“The Russian side expressed serious concern over the resumption of large-scale clashes,” said a statement by the Russian Presidency, the Kremlin.
Azerbaijan’s ally Turkey blamed Armenia for the upheaval and promised to give “full support” to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
“The Turkish people as usual will support our brothers in Azerbaijan at all costs,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted.
 Photo: CNN Indonesia / Timothy Loen-– |
The Call of Peace
From St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican, Pope Francis is praying for peace in the region while calling on France, Germany and the European Union to push for an “immediate ceasefire”.
It also calls for a “concrete attitude of goodwill and brotherhood” from the disputing parties.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply concerned about the resumption of new hostilities” between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Armenia-backed Nagorny-Karabakh region.
“The Secretary-General strongly calls on the parties to immediately stop fighting, reduce tensions and return to meaningful negotiations without delay,” a spokesman for Guterres said in a statement.
The U.S. Foreign Ministry says it has contacted both countries “to urge both sides to immediately end hostilities.”
“To use the direct communication link that exists between them to avoid further escalation, and to avoid unhelpful rhetoric and actions,” the statement continued.
Large-Scale War
Olesya Vartanyan, a political observer from the International Crisis Group, asked global powers to step up talks in order to stop the conflict. Otherwise, a huge battle will erupt.
“We are only a step away from a large-scale war,” he told AFP.
“One of the main reasons for the current escalation is the lack of proactive international mediation between the parties for weeks,” he added.
Likewise, Dmitry Trenin, Director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, said that big countries should encourage more to end the conflict.
“The war continues. Time for Russia, France and the US, individually and collectively, to stop it,” he tweeted.
 The border conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia also occurred on July 14. (Armenian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)-– |
Nagorny-Karabakh is part of the territory of Azerbaijan which is inhabited by a majority of ethnic Armenians. The history of conflict between the two parties in the Caucasus region has occurred since the Nagorno-Karabakh war in 1980 to 1994.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, this region declared its independence in 1991. However, this was not recognized internationally. A referendum was then held in 2017 with the majority pushing for independence. The big powers have again failed to recognize the results. Only on Armenia Karabakh depends.
The protracted negotiations that have been mediated by the major powers have so far not met any significant results. The last truce between Karabakh and Azerbeijan took place in 1994. The efforts of France, Russia and the United States, which are members of the “Minsk Group”, in 2010 also failed.
(AFP / arh)
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