Status: 19/09/2023, 12:34 p.m.
By: Christian Stör
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Parked Azerbaijani tanks near Kalbajar. (Archive) © Emrah Gurel/AP/dpa
Azerbaijan launches "anti-terrorist operations" in Nagorno-Karabakh. Tensions over the heavily mined region had recently risen sharply.
Baku/Yerevan - The former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan has launched a new military operation in the South Caucasus to conquer the conflict region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The Ministry of Defense in Baku spoke on Tuesday to justify "anti-terrorist operations of a local character to restore constitutional order" in the region. Nagorno-Karabakh is located on Azerbaijani territory, but is mostly inhabited by Armenians.
Military operation started: Azerbaijan opens battle for Nagorno-Karabakh – Several dead
The operations were directed against Armenian forces, the Ministry of Defense in Baku said. Turkey and Russia have been informed about the procedure. In Stepanakert, the capital of the region, which has been disputed between the two countries for decades, explosions were heard, according to a reporter from the AFP news agency.
Earlier, according to Azerbaijani data, six people were killed in mine explosions. Azerbaijani security forces had said that two civilians had been 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 were later killed in another mine explosion on their way to the site of the explosion.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have been arguing over Nagorno-Karabakh for decades
Azerbaijan and Armenia have been fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh since the collapse of the Soviet Union and have already fought two wars over the area. Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan under international law, but the area is predominantly inhabited by Armenians. After six weeks of fighting in 2020 that left more than 6,500 dead, Russia brokered a ceasefire agreement that forced Armenia to surrender large territories.
Since then, however, there have been repeated deadly clashes on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. In recent months, tensions over the heavily mined Nagorno-Karabakh have increased significantly again. (dpa/afp)