Baku, Azerbaijan – Azerbaijan launched military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday, targeting Armenian forces in the disputed region. The move came hours after six Azerbaijani citizens were killed in two separate landmine explosions.
Conflict ignites between Azerbaijani forces and Armenian forces-Image Source: Sky News
In a statement, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense said the operations were aimed at “combating terrorism” and would not target civilians or civilian infrastructure. The ministry said the operations would target only legitimate military targets using precision-guided weapons.
The ministry said it had informed the Russian peacekeeping force and the monitoring center of its actions in the region. It later announced that it had disabled Armenian military formations, firing positions, and military facilities using precision-guided weapons.
BREAKING:
Azeri missile strike destroys a Tor air defense system in Khankendi.
It looks more and more like full-scale war is breaking out in Nagorno-Karabakh.pic.twitter.com/kbVkMj6vU1
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) September 19, 2023
Azerbaijan uses artillery against civilians in Nagorno Karabakh.#Armenia #Azerbaijan #NagornoKarabakh #Baku #Stepanakert #Yerevan #Karabakh #Artsakh pic.twitter.com/u5xPOyyHyU
— Robert Ananyan (@robananyan) September 19, 2023
Video purportedly from Stepanakert in Karabakh – sounds of fighting and loitering munitions above #Azerbaijan, #Armenia (via @marutvanian) pic.twitter.com/Kwcxrsd2ww
— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) September 19, 2023
Azerbaijan also called for the “complete” withdrawal of Armenian forces from the region.
Witnesses reported hearing explosions in the capital, Stepanakert, and social media users shared videos of shelling and missile launches that they said were from the Azerbaijani military.
The Armenian-backed authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh said the capital and other cities were being “heavily shelled.”
Azerbaijan is shelling civilian residential areas of #Stepanakert
Fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan has just started in Nagorno-Karabakh.#Armenia #Azerbaijan #NagornoKarabakh #Baku #Yerevan #Karabakh #Artsakh #Ukraine #UkraineRussianWar #Russia #Turkey
Armenian PM… pic.twitter.com/TeTFaJR6pw
— Tom Kopca (@t0mk0pca) September 19, 2023
Russia, which has a peacekeeping force in Nagorno-Karabakh, called on Azerbaijan and Armenia to “stop the bloodshed.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Azerbaijan had announced the deaths of six of its citizens in two separate landmine explosions in the region. The country blamed “illegal Armenian armed groups” for planting the mines.
The explosions came a day after the International Committee of the Red Cross delivered shipments of food and medicine to Nagorno-Karabakh via two routes. The move was seen as a possible step toward de-escalation.
The renewed tensions come as the two sides continue to trade accusations over the humanitarian situation in the region. Azerbaijan has accused Armenia of blocking aid shipments, while Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of imposing a blockade.
Background on the conflict:
- Most of the population of the region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, is ethnic Armenian.
- The region broke away from Azerbaijani control in the early 1990s after a devastating war.
- Azerbaijan regained large swaths of territory in the region and surrounding areas in the 2020 war.
- Relations between the two countries remain deeply strained.
