Azerbaijan starts operation against Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh
- 19 September, 16:56
Azerbaijan on Tuesday announced the launching of an “anti-terror operation” to disarm Armenian forces in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The operation started hours after four Azerbaijani soldiers and two civilians died in two mine explosions in parts of Nagorno-Karabakh that are under partial control of Armenian military forces.
Announcing the start of the offensive, Azerbaijani Defence Ministry said: "only legitimate military targets are being incapacitated” with the use of high-precision weapons and for the purpose of restoring “constitutional order”.
The ministry said "positions on the front line and in-depth, long-term firing points of the formations of Armenia's armed forces, as well as combat assets and military facilities are incapacitated using high-precision weapons."
Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev urged the separatist ethnic-Armenian administration to "dissolve itself".
Azerbaijan also announced it would open a humanitarian crisis to facilitate evacuation of the residents in the region. However, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accused Azerbaijan of starting a ground operation aimed at "ethnic cleansing" of Karabakh’s Armenian population. Nevertheless, Pashinyan said Armenia would not engage in military operation against Azerbaijan.
There was a quick international response to the hostilities, with members of the international urging Azerbaijan to stop the fighting.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate end to hostilities on Wednesday and for "stricter observance of the 2020 ceasefire and principles of international humanitarian law".
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.
