HOSTILITIES broke out in Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan launched what it calls “anti-terror” operations in the enclave.
The said hostilities are over, for now, but before that, Azerbaijan first said it would not stop until the ethnic Armenians in Karabakh, surrender.
A Russian-brokered ceasefire took place between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, following violence that has erupted again in the region, marking the latest flare-up in the decades-long tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
On Tuesday, the Azerbaijani defense ministry conducted counter-terrorism measures of a local nature in Nagorno-Karabakh, accused Armenia of amassing its troops inside its territory, and of conducting sabotage operations against Azerbaijani troops.
Armenia, however, rejected the allegations and accused Azerbaijan of conducting ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia also urged intervention from the United States and the UN Security Council.
According to Armenpress News Agency, attacks conducted by Azerbaijani troops killed at least 32 people and injured more than 200.
Local Russian peacekeepers in the area proposed a ceasefire, and both Nagorno-Karabakh authorities and the Azerbaijani defense ministry have confirmed to halt hostilities.
Infocenter of Nagorno-Karabakh said that despite the regional forces’ best efforts to repel a large-scale offensive by Azerbaijan, it stated that the enemy managed to break into the military positions and take control of a number of heights and strategic road junctions.
“The enemy managed to break into the military positions… [and] take control of a number of heights and strategic road junctions,” InfoCenter of Nagorno-Karabakh said.
When the hostilities broke out, Moscow troops began evacuating civilians from the conflict zone. The Russian military said it has evacuated over 2,000 people, including 1,049 children.
Meanwhile, the Russian foreign ministry called for a return to trilateral agreements signed by Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, following the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabah.
Nagorno Karabakh is said to be a breakaway region of Azerbaijan. It is inside Azerbaijan’s borders.
However, it claims to be a self-proclaimed entity carved out of the country’s territory at a time when the Soviet Union was on the verge of collapse.
The region is also predominantly ethnic Armenian.
Nagorno-Karabakh ceded from Azerbaijan, escalating into a major war in the early 1990s; although it ended through a 1994 ceasefire, it has been marred by sporadic fighting since then.
Russia has played a key role in resolving the Azerbaijan-Armenia escalations, and this includes two full-scale wars in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The most notable escalation of hostilities happened in 2020, and it ended with Azerbaijan seizing control of the huge territories it had previously lost. At that time, Russia mediated the ceasefire, and peacekeepers were deployed to monitor the Russian-mediated truce.
Azerbaijan has a close economic and political relationship with Russia.
On the other hand, Armenia is a traditional ally of Russia and is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
However, ties have soured between the two countries.
The current Armenian government under Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has repeatedly accused Moscow of betraying Armenia’s interests, which Russia denied.
Pashniyan, in a politico interview, also said that Armenia can no longer rely on Russia for its security.
Armenia also dispatched humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, while Pashniyan’s wife visited Kyiv to show her support, a move that angered Russia.
