Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh
On 19 September, Azerbaijan began shelling ethnic Armenian positions in the contested Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) region around 06:30 EDT. Azerbaijan announced the offensive following the alleged deaths of six people in Azerbaijani-controlled territory due to Armenian landmines. Azerbaijan has been preparing for this operation for several weeks, having been resupplied by its patrons Turkey and Israel and conducting high-level meetings with regional players. The fighting is mostly limited to Nagorno-Karabakh and has not fully spread to the internationally recognized borders of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Situation Report
- Azerbaijan's defense ministry is calling the offensive a domestic anti-terror operation with the aim of disarming illegal Armenian armed groups.
- Azerbaijani sources claim to have established multiple humanitarian corridors including one from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.
- Armenian outlets have claimed widespread shelling of civilians.
- Ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) claim to be effectively resisting along the whole line of contact. Videos are circulating depicting the destruction of defense systems and shelling in Artsakh's capital city Stepanakert (Khankendi).
- Azerbaijan appears to be prioritizing the destruction of ethnic Armenian air defense systems and the seizure of strategically important heights in both Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia proper.
- Armenia has claimed that it has no military forces present in Nagorno-Karabakh and has called on Russia, which has a peacekeeping force of some 3000 troops present in the province, to halt the Azerbaijani offensive.
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