Armenia-Azerbaijan: Firing intensified in disputed Nagorny Karabakh region

On Oct 2, 2020

Karabakh : The war like situations have erupted in Armenia and Azerbaijan as the firing has intensified. Since the French President Emmanuel Macron’s statement that jihadist militants were stationed in Nagorny Karabakh has embarked, the Armenia and Azerbaijan relations has taken worst turns. The West and Moscow have intervened to stop the fighting in the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region but failed to reach a point.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump, and Macron, in a joint appeal on Thursday, asked both sides to negotiate and resolve the territorial dispute. Armenian Prime Minister Nicholas Pashinan and Azerbaijan leader Ilham Aliyev have rejected requests for talks. This has further facilitated the probability of ceasefire to be zero.

Russia and Turkey have sided with Armenia and Azerbaijan respectively. Russia is negotiating with Turkey in an urge to stop the conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu have confirmed that they are ready to work together to improve the situation.

Azerbaijan has opened fire on two villages inside Armenia in Karabakh. So far, 4 people died and 11 were injured in heavy firing by Azerbaijan in Martuni, a small town of Karabakh. A 54 year old civilian, Artak Ayalan is hiding in the basement. He said he has never seen a bad situation. I have built this house with my own hands, I will not go anywhere, even if I lose my life.

Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinayan has said that 1,280 Azerbaijani soldiers have been killed and 2,700 injured since Sunday. Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defense has claimed that there was a ‘Crush Artillery Strike’ on Armenian soldiers on its behalf.

After the declaration of independence of Karabakh from Azerbaijan, 30,000 people lost their lives in the war in the early 1990s, still it is not free. Once again Armenia and Karabakh announced martial law and military mobilization on Sunday. On the other hand, Azerbaijan imposed military rule and curfew in big cities. Since the 1994 ceasefire agreement, the issue has not been resolved by talks.