YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Azerbaijan claimed full control of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh on Wednesday after Armenian forces there agreed to lay down their arms following the latest outbreak of fighting in the decade-long separatist conflict.
Authorities in the ethnic-Armenian region, which has managed its affairs without international recognition since fighting erupted in the early 1990s, said around midday that local self-defense forces would be disarmed and disbanded as part of a Russia-brokered ceasefire.
They also said that representatives of the region will begin talks with the Baku government on Thursday about the “reintegration” of Nagorno-Karabakh into Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced the victory in a televised address to the nation, saying that “in just one day, Azerbaijan fulfilled all the tasks set within the framework of local anti-terror measures” and “restored its sovereignty.”
On Tuesday, the Azerbaijani army launched an artillery barrage and drone strikes against outnumbered and under-resourced pro-Armenian forces weakened by a blockade of the southern Caucasus region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
Nagorno-Karabakh human rights ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan said at least 200 people, including 10 civilians, were killed and more than 400 others were injured in the fighting. He said earlier that children were among the dead and wounded.
His death toll could not immediately be independently verified.
The hostilities worsened the already dire humanitarian situation for residents, who have been suffering food and medicine shortages for months as Azerbaijan imposed a blockade of the road between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia.
Thousands of Nagorno-Karabakh residents flocked to a camp run by Russian peacekeepers to escape the fighting, while many others gathered at the airport in the regional capital Stepanakert hoping to flee the region.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in a speech to the nation that fighting had decreased following the ceasefire and stressed that Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh bear full responsibility for the security of its residents.
“If peacekeepers have proposed a peace agreement, it means that they have fully and without reservations assumed responsibility for ensuring the security of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians and giving them the conditions and rights for them to live on their lands and in their homes can live safely,” he said.
Pashinyan, who previously recognized Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh, said Armenia would not be drawn into the fighting. He said his government had not taken part in negotiations over the agreement but had “noted” the decision of the region’s separatist authorities.
He again denied that Armenian troops were in the region, although separatist authorities said they were in Nagorno-Karabakh and would leave under the ceasefire.
Protesters gathered in the Armenian capital Yerevan for the second day in a row on Wednesday, blocking roads and calling on authorities to defend Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the US was “deeply concerned” about Azerbaijan’s military actions. “We have repeatedly emphasized that the use of force is absolutely unacceptable,” he said, adding that the US is closely monitoring the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. And the UN Security Council, at France’s request, scheduled an emergency meeting on Thursday on the Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan’s attempt to regain control of Nagorno-Karabakh raised concerns that there could be an all-out war in the region between the two neighbors, which have been locked in a battle over Nagorno-Karabakh since the end of a separatist war there in 1994 are involved.
During another six-week war in 2020, Azerbaijan recaptured large swaths of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent areas held by Armenian forces for decades. More than 6,700 people died in the fighting, which ended with a Russian-brokered peace deal. Moscow sent around 2,000 peacekeepers to the region.
The conflict has long attracted powerful regional players, including Russia and Turkey. While Russia took on the role of mediator, Turkey supported its long-time ally Azerbaijan.
Russia has been Armenia’s main economic partner and ally since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and has a military base in the country.
However, Pashinyan has been increasingly critical of Moscow’s role, stressing that the country is unable to protect Nagorno-Karabakh and arguing that Armenia must turn to the West to ensure its security. Moscow, in turn, was dismayed by Pashinyan’s pro-Western stance.
The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Pashinyan by telephone on Wednesday and welcomed the agreement to end hostilities and begin talks between Azerbaijani officials and Nagorno-Karabakh representatives.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said some of its peacekeepers were killed on Wednesday, but did not specify the number or whether it happened before or after the ceasefire began. The ministry said peacekeepers evacuated more than 3,100 civilians.
The separatists’ quick surrender reflected their weakness following the defeat of Armenian forces in the 2020 war and the loss of the only road connecting the region to Armenia.
Thomas de Waal, a senior fellow at think tank Carnegie Europe, said the separatist forces, which consisted of several thousand poorly supplied men, were “probably no match for the Azerbaijani forces.”
While many in Armenia blamed Russia for the separatists’ defeat, Moscow pointed to Pashinyan’s own recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan.
“Karabakh is undoubtedly an internal matter of Azerbaijan,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “Azerbaijan is acting on its own territory, which has been recognized by the leadership of Armenia.”
He expressed hope that Azerbaijan would respect the rights of the ethnic Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to Aliyev and “condemned Azerbaijan’s decision to use force … at the risk of worsening the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh and endangering ongoing efforts to achieve a fair and lasting peace,” Das said French presidential office.
Macron “emphasized the need to respect the ceasefire” and “provide guarantees for the rights and security of the people of Karabakh in accordance with international law.”
Azerbaijan’s presidential adviser Hikmet Hajiyev said Baku was “ready to listen to the Armenian population of Karabakh regarding their humanitarian needs.”
Announcing its military operation on Tuesday, Azerbaijan aired a long list of grievances, accusing pro-Armenian forces of attacking its positions, laying landmines and committing sabotage.
Although Aliyev insisted that the Azerbaijani army only attacked military facilities during the fighting, separatist officials in Nagorno-Karabakh said Stepanakert and other areas were subjected to “intense shelling.”
Before the ceasefire, explosions occurred every few minutes around Stepanakert on Wednesday – some in the distance, others closer to the city. Even after the ceasefire was announced and the shelling was no longer heard in Stepanakert, many residents decided to remain in shelters for the rest of the day.
Significant damage could be seen in the city: shop windows were blown out and vehicles were apparently damaged by shrapnel.
The Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office said Armenian forces fired on Shusha, a city in Nagorno-Karabakh under Azerbaijani control, killing a civilian.
___
Associated Press writers Jim Heintz and Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia; Aida Sultanova in London; Siranush Sargsyan in Stepanakert; and Edith M. Lederer from the United Nations contributed.