Azerbaijan offers amnesty to Armenian fighters in Nagorno-Karabakh
- 23 September, 17:09
Baku has offered amnesty to Armenian militants fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh region that surrendered to Azerbaijan after a 24-hour war last week.
Azerbaijani Presidential advisor Hikmat Hajiyev said on Friday that Armenians laying down their weapons voluntarily would be given amnesty. He stressed that, however, that the amnesty would not apply to those involved in war crimes.
Azerbaijan launched an “anti-terrorist” operation on September 19 demanding the total withdrawal of Armenian military formations from the breakaway region. Baku claimed the operation was aimed at “restoration of constitutional order” of the country.
Azerbaijan's defense ministry said it was using "high precision weapons on the front line and in depth." Despite this, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan expressed concerns over possible “ethnic cleansing” against the region’s Armenian population, adding that however, Yerevan would not be involved in the hostilities.
The operation to disarm Armenian militants ended the next day after the surrender of the separatist forces in the region. The surrender of Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh was followed by the meeting between Baku and Nagorno-Karabakh separatists in Azerbaijan’s Yevlakh city on September 21.
Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region recognized as part of Azerbaijan, is home to 120,000 ethnic Armenians. The offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh followed weeks of tensions in the region. It also comes amid the blockade of Lachin corridor – the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.
