Status: 19.09.2023, 16:19 p.m.
By: Jens Kiffmeier
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Azerbaijani tanks near Kalbajar (archive image). © Emrah Gurel/AP/dpa
In the South Caucasus, the conflict is escalating again: Azerbaijan has launched a military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh. The region has been disputed for decades.
- Nagorno-Karabakh war: Azerbaijan launches new military operation
- Armenia speaks of "ethnic cleansing"
- Shots fired in cities: Several dead reported
- This news ticker will be updated continuously.
Baku – With precision strikes and the use of ground troops: The military action launched by Azerbaijan to retake Nagorno-Karabakh has been met with international horror. Above all, the government of Armenia sharply criticized the approach. The leadership in Baku has unleashed "further, broad-based aggression" against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh in order to complete its "policy of ethnic cleansing," the Armenian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday in Yerevan after the first wave of attacks. While Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan convened the National Security Council and asked the UN Security Council for help, the Union also condemned the outbreak of the old conflict.
Nagorno-Karabakh: Azerbaijan reignites conflict with Armenia
Azerbaijan, once a Soviet republic, launched a new military operation in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus on Tuesday morning to recapture the conflict region, which is located on Azerbaijani territory but inhabited mainly by Armenians. The military in Baku justified this with alleged violations of the current ceasefire by Armenia and dubbed the operation an "anti-terrorist operation". The Armenian side rejects these accusations as a fabricated pretext.
War over Nagorno-Karabakh: Military launches operation – Dead after explosions
Both Turkey and Russia are said to have been informed in advance about the actions. Explosions were heard in Stepanakert, the capital of the region that has been contested between the two countries for decades, according to an AFP reporter. Earlier, according to Azerbaijani sources, six people were killed in mine explosions. Azerbaijani security forces reported that two civilians were killed on a road towards the city of Shusha in the Azerbaijani-controlled part of Nagorno-Karabakh by a mine laid by Armenian "sabotage groups". Four police officers later died in another mine explosion on the way to the scene.
Who owns Nagorno-Karabakh? Caucasus republic has been disputed since Soviet times
But who actually owns Nagorno-Karabakh? Muslim Azerbaijan and Christian Orthodox Armenia have been at loggerheads over Nagorno-Karabakh since the collapse of the Soviet Union and have already fought two wars over the territory. Azerbaijan is receiving support from Turkey in this conflict, while Russia, as a traditional ally of Armenia, is losing influence. Nagorno-Karabakh legally belongs to Azerbaijan, but it is inhabited mainly by Armenians. After six weeks of fighting in 2020 that left over 6,500 dead, Russia brokered a ceasefire that forced Armenia to surrender large territories. Since then, however, deadly conflicts have repeatedly erupted on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. In recent months, tensions around the heavily mined Nagorno-Karabakh have increased significantly.
The European Union (EU) has condemned the Azerbaijani military operation to conquer the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is also claimed by Armenia. "We call for an immediate end to hostilities and call on Azerbaijan to cease current military activities," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Tuesday.
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German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) made a similar statement. "Azerbaijan must stop the shelling immediately and return to the negotiating table," the Green politician demanded on Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. She added: "The protection of civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh is crucial. This is also the task of the Russian soldiers stationed there."
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict: ally Russia rejects accusations of interference
Russia has called for an end to the fighting between the ex-Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia. "We are deeply concerned about the sharp escalation of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. The bloodshed and fighting must end and the conflict must be resolved through diplomatic channels.
Earlier, Azerbaijan announced the start of a military operation to seize Nagorno-Karabakh. Russian border troops are supposed to monitor a ceasefire between the opposing parties as allies. Against this background, Zakharova rejected the accusations made in Armenia that Russia had been privy to Azerbaijan's plans to attack. The Russian troops stationed there only learned about it minutes before the start of the military operation, she said. (jkf/with material from dpa/afp
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