Nagorno-Karabakh public television broadcast images of civilians fleeing explosions and gunfire on a street in Stepanakert on September 19. ARTSAKH PUBLIC TV / Portal
Azerbaijan announced on Tuesday, September 19, that it had launched what it described as an “anti-terrorism” military operation against “Armenian forces” in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. An Agence France-Presse journalist heard detonations in Nagorno-Karabakh’s capital, Stepanakert. The separatist region’s rights defender Gegham Stepanyan reported a preliminary toll of two civilians killed and 23 injured.
Armenian separatist authorities have confirmed a “large-scale military operation against the Republic of Artsakh.” [le nom donné par les Arméniens au Haut-Karabakh] “. Stepanakert and other cities in the region are the target of “intense shooting,” the representative of the separatists in Armenia added on Facebook.
“Azerbaijan has launched a ground operation aimed at ethnic cleansing of the Armenians of Karabakh,” Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said in a televised statement, assuring that the situation at the border was “stable” and that Armenia “is not involved.” “are armed actions”. Mr Pashinian also called on the United Nations and Russia to “take action”.
“We must not allow certain (…) forces to deal a blow to the Armenian state.” “There are already calls from various places to carry out a coup in Armenia,” he said in a speech to the nation, as reported by Armenian television Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of the Armenian government headquarters in Yerevan.
“false statements”
For their part, Nagorno-Karabakh separatist forces said they would try to “resist” the Azerbaijani army, which is trying to advance “deep” into the enclave. “The Azerbaijani Armed Forces are trying to advance in depth (…) The Defense Forces continue to resist Azerbaijan’s offensive across the entire line of contact,” said X (formerly Twitter).
The Baku authorities added that they considered peace possible on the condition of a “complete” withdrawal of the Armenians. “The only path to peace (…) is the unconditional and complete withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces (…) and the dissolution of the so-called separatist regime,” Azerbaijani diplomacy said in a statement. The Armenian Ministry of Defense assuredFor her part, she called for no military deployment in the region and condemned Baku’s “false statements.”
Russia called on Azerbaijan and Armenia to “end the bloodshed” in Nagorno-Karabakh and return to “a peaceful solution.” “All stages of a peaceful solution are set out in the agreements signed in 2020 and 2022,” Russian diplomatic spokeswoman Maria Zakharova added.
INFOGRAPHY THE WORLD
France on Tuesday condemned “with the utmost firmness” the launch of a military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan and called for “the urgent convening of a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.”
The world application
The morning of the world
Every morning, discover our selection of 20 items not to be missed
Download the app
“No pretext can justify such a unilateral action, which threatens thousands of civilians already affected by the months-long illegal blockade and runs counter to the efforts of the international community to reach a negotiated solution,” the French Foreign Ministry said, calling on Baku to issue its statement Take the offensive immediately and return to respect for international law.”
“Azerbaijan’s military actions must stop immediately to allow a real dialogue between Baku and the Armenians of Karabakh,” he said. explained added European Council President Charles Michel on Tuesday. “This military escalation must not be used as a pretext to force the displacement of the local population,” said Josep Borrell, the head of European diplomacy, in a press release.
On the night of Monday to Tuesday, the Azerbaijani authorities announced the deaths of four police officers and two Azerbaijani civilians in the mine explosion in Nagorno-Karabakh and accused a group of Armenian separatist “saboteurs” of committing these “terrorist” acts.
In early August, Armenia called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations (UN) Security Council given the “deteriorating humanitarian situation” in the region. The Lachin Corridor, the only land connection between Armenia and Karabakh, was initially blocked by Azerbaijanis posing as environmental protesters before Baku set up a road blockade at the entrance to that road on July 11 for security reasons.
At the UN Security Council meeting on August 16, France, the United Kingdom and the United States called on Baku to ensure freedom of movement on the Lachin Strait, but no statement or resolution was issued. At the end of the meeting it was voted on – a half-time failure for the Armenians. Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-majority mountainous region in Azerbaijan, was the scene of two wars in the early 1990s and then in the fall of 2020. It is one of the most heavily mined areas in the former USSR. Explosions there regularly cause deaths.
Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Nagorno-Karabakh: A Russian aid truck reaches Stepanakert