Azerbaijan has launched an ‘anti-terrorist’ operation into Armenia-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh, backed up by artillery attacks, threatening that the operation would not stop until Armenian forces surrendered.
Karabakh, a mountainous area in the South Caucasus region, is accepted internationally as Azerbaijani territory. However, a part of it is controlled by separatist Armenian authorities who claim it is their ancestral homeland.
Azerbaijan’s ‘Anti-Terrorist’ Operation
Azerbaijan launched an “anti-terrorist operation” hours after four soldiers and two civilians were killed by landmines set by Armenian saboteurs.
According to Azerbaijan’s defence ministry, the mission is to “disarm and secure the withdrawal of formations of Armenia’s armed forces from our territories, [and] neutralise their military infrastructure.” It declared that it was working to “restore the constitutional order of the Republic of Azerbaijan” and that citizens could leave through humanitarian corridors, including one to Armenia.
Azerbaijani officials claimed they were prepared to cease operations and begin negotiations provided separatists put down their weapons.
Azerbaijan said on Tuesday that it had launched a military operation against an Armenian enclave inside its territory, raising fears of a new armed conflict in a fragile region. https://t.co/SLEhI3YMLo
— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) September 20, 2023
The Baku government also demanded a complete dissolution of the de facto administration in the breakaway region. “Nevertheless, for the antiterror measures to stop, the illegal Armenian military formations must raise the white flag, all the weapons must be handed over, and the illegal regime must be dissolved,” read a statement.
After attacking the breakaway region and demanding that separatist troops surrender, Azerbaijan declared that it would defend the ethnic-Armenian people living in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Presidential Foreign Policy Advisor Hikmet Hajiyev wrote on social media, “The rights and security of civilians of Armenian descent in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan will be provided under the Constitution and international obligations of Azerbaijan.”
Azerbaijan’s Hajiyev claimed that the army is using guided munitions against military targets to prevent collateral harm to civilians. “The intention of Azerbaijan is to close a chapter of animosity and confrontation,” he added.
Armenia’s Response
Armenian separatists in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh territory have claimed Azerbaijani soldiers are attempting to advance into the region. “The Azerbaijani Armed Forces are trying to advance into Artsakh,” they said, using an Armenian name for the area. “The Defense Forces continue to resist Azerbaijan’s offensive along the entire line of contact.”
In response to the attack, Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan claimed that Karabakh was being intensively bombarded in an attempt to provoke a war. He asked that Russian peacekeepers do their duties and warned that unidentified forces were planning a coup in Yerevan.
Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of launching “large-scale aggression” against the Nagorno-Karabakh territory, alleging Baku was attempting “ethnic cleansing” in the region, which consists of an ethnically Armenian population.
According to a regional separatist official, 5 persons were killed and 80 were injured in Azerbaijani military operations, and 15 of the injured were civilians.
Armenia has accused Moscow of being too preoccupied with its conflict in Ukraine to protect it and claimed that Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh are failing to do their duty.
#UPDATE Russian peacekeepers said on Wednesday they evacuated more than 2,000 civilians including over 1,000 children from the "most dangerous" areas in Karabakh, a day after Azerbaijan launched a military operation in the disputed region. pic.twitter.com/5LnsV943DN
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) September 20, 2023
Russia’s Role as a Mediator
A 2,000-member Russian peacekeeping force was deployed to the region by Moscow to monitor a 2020 truce between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that media reports claiming Azerbaijan warned Russian soldiers stationed in the region “does not correspond to reality.” “The information was communicated to the Russian contingent a few minutes before the outbreak of hostilities,” Zakharova added.
On Tuesday, Russia’s defence ministry said that its peacekeeping forces had begun evacuating civilians from Nagorno-Karabakh. The statement said, “During the day, 469 people, including 185 children, were evacuated to the location of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.” The statement added that troops provided medical assistance to several injured people, including children.
Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement encouraging all sides to “stop the bloodshed” in Nagorno-Karabakh. “In connection with the sharp escalation of the armed confrontation in Nagorno-Karabakh, we urge the conflicting parties to immediately stop the bloodshed, stop hostilities and eliminate civilian casualties,” the ministry stated on Telegram.
US warns Azerbaijan to end military operation
— RT (@RT_com) September 20, 2023
Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the attack on Nagorno-Karabakh 'unacceptable'https://t.co/lac1BCUDJ3 pic.twitter.com/73VoWpGmqQ
World Leaders Demand Peaceful Negotiations
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to “immediately cease hostilities” and assured Pashinyan that Washington backed Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The EU, France, and Germany all denounced Azerbaijan’s military action and called on both countries to resume discussions on the region’s future.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, stated that Brussels was “fully engaged” in encouraging the discussion. “This military escalation should not be used as a pretext to force the exodus of the local population,” he warned.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for the “immediate resumption of discussions” to create a “just and lasting peace” between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as the “immediate cessation” of offensive operations.
Turkey Supports Azerbaijan’s Military Operation
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated that Turkey supports Azerbaijan’s counterterrorism operation in Karabakh in order to uphold its territorial integrity.
Erdoğan stated that Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan’s sovereign territory, and imposing another status on the breakaway region is unacceptable.
The Turkish president stated, “We have supported the negotiation process between Azerbaijan and Armenia from the beginning. However, we see that Armenia has not fully seized this historic opportunity.” “Armenia needs to keep its pledges, including respect for the Zangezur corridor,” Erdoğan said.