Azerbaijan claims that it conquered several municipalities by the afternoon. “We have liberated six villages,” a ministry spokesman told AFP.
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According to the Russian news agency TASS, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense announced that Armenian forces were shelling Azerbaijani military positions as well as Azerbaijani communities and that there were dead and wounded civilians. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pasinjan, on the other hand, reported on Facebook that the Azerbaijani air force had begun to attack, and the Armenian Foreign Ministry warned that the Azerbaijani army was bombing villages, including the Karabakh metropolis Stepanakert.
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In this image, taken from footage released by the Armenian Ministry of Defense on Sunday, September 27, 2020, the Armenian army is destroying Azerbaijani tanks on the contact line of the self-proclaimed Republic of Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh.
Photo: ČTK / AP
According to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense, around 6:00 local time, the Armenian Armed Forces began shelling positions in the Azerbaijani army along the entire line of the disputed territory and the nearby villages.
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NO COMMENT: Tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan are growing
Video: Reuters
The Armenian army said it had shot down two Azerbaijani helicopters, several drones and destroyed other Azerbaijani military equipment. However, the Azerbaijani side denied this information. Baku also rejects information that it would attack civilian targets.
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Turkey wants to help Azerbaijan against Armenia
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that Turkey condemns Armenian activities, stands behind Azerbaijan and is willing to provide assistance. “We will offer Azerbaijan the help it wants,” the ministry said, according to TASS.
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There is a long-running dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh – an enclave in southwestern Azerbaijan with a predominantly ethnic Armenian population. Armed conflict broke out in 1988, and Nagorno-Karabakh, with the support of Armenia, broke away from Azerbaijan in a bloody war that claimed an estimated 30,000 dead and hundreds of thousands of refugees.
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News release on the first TV channel of Armenia. Shows destruction in Stepanakert, children in the shelter. pic.twitter.com/VnkbPq2uCK
– Rustem Adagamov (@adagamov) September 27, 2020
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Above: propaganda video from Azerbaijani television, below: footage of damage in the Nagorno-Karabakh capital Stepanakert from Armenian television
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At present, the enclave and the adjacent Lachin Corridor are under the military control of Armenia, while Azerbaijan considers the territory to be occupied.
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