BAKU – Clashes resume in Nagorno Karabakh, the self-proclaimed Republic. At least two Armenian and one Azerbaijani soldiers were killed in the disputed region between Yerevan and Baku in clashes for which Armenia and Azerbaijan are blaming each other. The separatist president, Araik Arutiunian, has signed a decree announcing a partial military mobilization starting today, amid growing friction with Azerbaijan.
Armenia and Azerbaijan, the hidden conflict that can ignite the Moscow-Ankara tension
by ROSALBA CASTELLETTI
The fuse was lit after Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh each reported the deaths of their own fighters. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry accused the fighters of the self-proclaimed republic of targeting army positions in the Lachin district (under the supervision of Russian troops) by killing a conscript soldier. Nagorno-Karabakh has in turn pointed the finger at the Azeris accusing them of killing two fighters and injuring eight others.
Baku then specified that it had taken control of several strategic heights in the disputed region and that it had conducted an operation called “Vendetta” in response to the “terrorist actions of some Armenian armed groups on the territory of Azerbaijan”.
In the evening, Nagorno-Karabakh announced “partial mobilization” but added that the situation was “relatively stable” and that “measures to stabilize the situation” are being taken together with Russian forces.
Moscow for its part accused “the Azerbaijani armed forces of violating the ceasefire and said it was ready to” stabilize “the situation.” The command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent is taking measures to stabilize the situation together with representatives of the Azerbaijani and Armenian side “, the Russian Defense Ministry quoted by the Tass agency said.
Brussels also took the field. The European Union called for “an immediate cessation of hostilities” and “to reduce tension, fully respect the ceasefire and return to the negotiating table to seek negotiated solutions”.
What is Nagorno Karabakh
The Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh separated from Azerbaijan with Yerevan’s support after a bloody post-Soviet ethnic conflict in the early 1990s. In 2020, Azerbaijan successfully recaptured part of the separatist-controlled territory after six weeks of fighting costing more than 6,500 deaths.
Under the terms of a subsequent Russian-brokered ceasefire, Armenia has surrendered areas of territory it had controlled for decades and Russia has deployed some 2,000 troops to oversee the fragile truce, hampered by tensions that continue to emerge.
Already in recent days, fighting had erupted around the territory, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, with Baku claiming to have killed 4 separatist soldiers and wounded 15 others.