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Major escalation of the 2021–2022 Armenia-Azerbaijan border crisis From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On 12 September 2022, a series of clashes erupted between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops along the Armenia–Azerbaijan border, marking a major escalation in the current border crisis between Armenia–Azerbaijan[13][14] and resulting in nearly 300 deaths and dozens of injuries on both sides by 14 September.[15][16][17][18][19][7] A number of human rights organizations and governments – including the United States, European Parliament, Canada, France, Uruguay, Cyprus – stated that Azerbaijan had launched an attack on positions inside the Republic of Armenia.[20][21][22][23][24]
September 2022 Azerbaijani Attack On Armenia | |||||||||
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Part of the Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis | |||||||||
A map of Azerbaijani strikes on the territory of Armenia between 1213 September 2022. At least 23 localities were hit. | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Azerbaijan | Armenia | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Ilham Aliyev (President, Commander-in-Chief) Zakir Hasanov (Minister of Defence) |
Nikol Pashinyan (Prime Minister, Commander-in-Chief) Suren Papikyan (Minister of Defence) Edvard Asryan (Chief of the General Staff) | ||||||||
Units involved | |||||||||
Azerbaijani Armed Forces | Armed Forces of Armenia | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
Per Azerbaijan:[7] Armenian claim: 431 servicemen killed[8] |
Per Armenia:[9] Azerbaijani claim: | ||||||||
4 Armenian civilians killed and 2 missing[9] 7 Armenian and 3 Azerbaijani civilians injured[11][12] |
This article may contain an excessive number of citations. (October 2023) |
Azerbaijani forces attacked military and civilian positions in Vardenis, Goris, Sotk, Jermuk, and other cities[25] with artillery, drones, and heavy weapons.[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][21][22][34][23] Azerbaijan claimed that Armenian forces had staged "large-scale subversive acts" using "saboteurs" who planted landmines,[35][36][37][38] an allegation the government spread during the days following the invasion[39] and also echoed by Azerbaijan's ally Turkey.[39][40] Various journalists, politicians, and political analysts scrutinized these allegations and considered them unfounded or unverifiable.[41][42][43][44][45][46][47]
The fighting ended with Azerbaijani troops taking control of strategic positions deep inside Armenia, with at least 7600 civilians displaced from Armenian provinces.[48][49][50][51][6][13][52] Russia said on 13 September that it had brokered a ceasefire, but both sides confirmed it was broken minutes after coming into effect.[53][54][55] On 14 September, Armenia and Azerbaijan brokered a new ceasefire.[56][57] Armenia requested that the CSTO provide military support; however, the military alliance refused to provide support.[58] The clashes erupted shortly after Russia suffered serious setbacks in the Kharkiv counteroffensive during the invasion of Ukraine, weakening its force projection in the Caucasus.[59][60]
Following a meeting between leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia at the invitation of the President of France, and the President of the European Council,[61] an EU civilian monitoring mission consisting of 40 people was deployed on the Armenian side of the border (Azerbaijan did not grant access to its side),[62] and an OSCE assessment mission will be sent to Armenia.[63]
On 12 May 2021, Azerbaijani soldiers crossed several kilometers into Armenia in the provinces of Syunik and Gegharkunik and occupied about 41 square kilometres (16 sq mi) of Armenian territory.[64][65][66][67] The European Parliament, as well as the United States and France – two of the three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – called on Azerbaijan to withdraw its troops from internationally recognised Armenian territory.[68][67]
Further clashes took place in July 2021 and in November 2021, with casualties being reported from both sides. In a joint statement on 17 November 2021, EU rapporteurs called the military operation launched by Azerbaijan on 16 November 2021 the worst violation to date of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement.[69]
Turkey and Azerbaijan carried out joint military exercises in the days before the September 2022 attacks on Armenia.[70] In the days and hours up running up until September 13, Armenian officials warned that they feared an attack.[71]
On the morning of 12 September 2022, Azerbaijan initiated an unprovoked invasion of Armenia, striking positions along a 200 km stretch of their shared border.[72][73][74][75]
On the evening of 12 September, the Armenian Ministry of Defense reported that units of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces had started firing intensively with artillery and heavy weapons in the direction of Armenian positions and civilian areas in Goris, Artanish, Sotk, Jermuk, Kapan, and Ishkhanasar. The Armenian MoD also mentioned that the Azerbaijani side had used UAVs, and was undertaking positional advancement operations in some directions.[76] The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry said that Armenia had staged "large-scale provocations" near the Dashkasan, Kalbajar, and Lachin regions and had laid mines along the army's supply roads. The Azerbaijani MoD reported that they were taking measures to "suppress the firing points of the Armenian armed forces and to prevent the expansion of the scale of the confrontation".[77] At a meeting with foreign military attaches it was also stated that Armenian side had been mining supply roads of Azerbaijani army – according to Azerbaijani MoD, in the areas reclaimed by Azerbaijan 7,559 anti-personnel mines, 2,348 anti-tank mines and 10,052 unexploded ordnance were discovered by 13 September 2022.[78]
Russia announced on 13 September that it had brokered a ceasefire, but both sides confirmed that it was broken minutes after coming into effect.[53][54][55]
On 13 September at 14:00, the Armenian MoD announced that the situation in some parts of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border continues to be extremely tense as Azerbaijan continues to attempt positional advances, particularly in the direction of Nerkin Hand, Verin Shorzha, Artanish and Sotk. The Armenian MFA also stated that as a result of Azerbaijani shelling, many residential houses were damaged in the village of Kut, while women and children were evacuated.[79] Armenia's Health Ministry stated that three civilians had been injured as a result of Azerbaijani shelling on civilian areas on the first day of the attack.[80] According to Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan, at least 204 Armenian servicemen were killed or missing.[9] The Azerbaijani MoD announced the death of 80 of its servicemen,[7] 42 of whom were members of the Azerbaijani Army while 8 were from the State Border Service.[81]
In the morning of 14 September, the Azerbaijani MoD reported that the Armenian Armed Forces had fired mortars and artillery at Azerbaijani army units stationed in the Kelbajar and Lachin directions during the night and that the army was taking "adequate retaliatory measures".[83] The Armenian MoD called this "another disinformation" which "serves as an information base for carrying out military aggression against the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia".[84] Armenian MoD also reported that Azerbaijan was shelling Jermuk and Verin Shorzha, using artillery, mortars and large-caliber small arms.[85] At 11 am, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense and the Prosecutor General's Office issued a joint statement claiming that two Azerbaijani civilians had been injured as a result of the Armenian Armed Forces' shelling.[12]
Nikol Pashinyan said that Azerbaijan had taken control over certain areas of Armenian territory. Pashinyan added that Armenia had applied to Article 4 of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) for the first time in Armenian history.[31]
On that same day, an Armenian security official said that they agreed to a ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan.[56][57]
According to The Moscow Times, Putin rejected Armenian PM Pashinyan's request for military assistance: Armenia is a party to the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, the members of which have taken the obligation to assist each other in case of military aggression.[86]
According to an Armenian MP, Armenia has regained control over six previously lost positions on the border.[87]
On 21 September the Armenian MoD reported that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces had fired mortars and large-caliber firearms at Armenian positions in eastern part of border and as a result wounded one Armenian soldier.[88]
On 22 September the Armenian side reported that one of the civilians wounded during the first days of the attacks, had died in the hospital, thus raising the number of civilian casualties to 4.[89]
Several foreign representations, among others the US embassy,[90] the Dutch embassy,[91] the French embassy,[92] issued high risk security alerts, prohibiting any non-essential travel to several regions of Armenia bordering with Azerbaijan (Tavush, Gegharkunik, Vayots Dzor, Syunik regions and the village of Yeraskh). In response to a reporter's question, the US Embassy reiterated its calls on Azerbaijan "to return troops to their initial positions" and to maintain the ceasefire.[93]
On 23 September Armenia MoD reported a ceasefire violation, whereby Azerbaijani armed forces had attempted to infiltrate into the rear of one of the Armenian combat positions located in the eastern direction of the Armenian border without success.[94]
On 29 September Armenia MoD reported that Azerbaijani forces used mortars and weapons of large caliber, shelling the eastern part of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, as a result 3 Armenian soldiers died. The MFA of Armenia stated that this shows Azerbaijan's "clear disrespect towards the calls of the international community and the member states of the UN Security Council to maintain the ceasefire"[95] and the Prime Minister of Armenia called for "deployment of an international observer mission on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border".[96]
On the night of September 12–13, the Azerbaijani armed forces attacked the deployment point of the border forces of the FSB of Russia in Gegharkunik in Armenia. The personnel of the Russian troops urgently left the place of deployment. Based on the published photos, as a result of the shelling, the barracks and military equipment of the Russian troops were damaged[97][98]
Videos of war crimes committed by Azerbaijani forces presumably occurring during the September 2022 offensive began to circulate online after the event.[99]
Azerbaijan is holding at least seven Armenian prisoners of war (POWs), but video evidence suggests the number to be higher.[100]
Footage circulating on Telegram depicted a female Armenian soldier who was mutilated by Azerbaijani forces. The video showed the woman completely naked, with words written across her breasts and stomach. A stone was inserted into one of her eye sockets, a severed finger had been placed in her mouth, and her legs had been sliced off from her body.[101] The General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces stated that "the Azerbaijani armed forces committed atrocities after infiltrating into Armenia's territory; they have dismembered a woman service member, cut off her legs, fingers and stripped her naked".[102]
Armenia accused Azerbaijan of killing another POW in captivity. Davit Gishian, a POW who was seen injured and being insulted on an amateur video spread on Azerbaijani social media, was among the bodies of soldiers returned to the Armenian side.[103]
On the morning of 2 October, a video depicting Azerbaijani military forces corralling and executing a group of six Armenian prisoners of war (military personnel) by machine gun fire was released on Telegram channels. The footage, if genuine, clearly depicts a war crime (execution of POWs) and Azerbaijan announced that it was opening an investigation into the event.[99]
According to the office of Armenia's human rights ombudsman, the video was filmed on Armenian territory on 13 September 2020, during an Azerbaijani attack along Armenia's border.[104][105] Armenia's Foreign Ministry released a statement calling for accountability and increased pressure on Azerbaijan by the international community,[106] followed by statements of condemnation from EU,[107] UK,[108] France[109] Canada,[110][111] US[112] and other countries.[113][114][115] In response the Azerbaijani Prosecutor's Office stated that the latest footage was being investigated.[104] The video's release occurred hours before scheduled peace negotiations between Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in Geneva and threatened to derail the peace discussions.[104][105]
Azerbaijan has previously been found guilty of torturing and killing Armenian POWs and not conducting investigations into these crimes.[99]
According to the preliminary data published by Armenia's Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, as a result of Azerbaijani shelling, 192 residential houses were damaged in the Armenian provinces of Syunik, Gegharkunik and Vayots Dzor with 60 of them being completely damaged.[116] Human Rights Defender of Armenia stated that more than 7,500 people had been displaced from their homes.[117] On 14 September, it was reported that Azerbaijani missiles had also struck a Russian FSB office in Gegharkunik Province.[118]
On 13 September, Armenia's Emergency Situations Ministry spokesperson reported that Azerbaijan's shelling caused forest fires in Jermuk.[119] At a UN Security Council meeting, Armenia's permanent representative Mher Margaryan condemned Azerbaijan's attack on Jermuk saying: "The shelling of the resort town of Jermuk, which has absolutely no military targets is nothing short of war crime, and so are the strikes against the Kechut water reservoir, with potentially catastrophic human toll and environmental impact".[120] On 16 September, the heads of diplomatic missions and international organizations accredited in Armenia arrived in Jermuk to get acquainted with the consequences of the shellings.[121]
In Azerbaijan, in connection with the death of the military personnel of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, solemn events dedicated to the "Knowledge Day" and "National Music Day" were canceled,[122][123] the Azerbaijan Weightlifting Championship among youth was postponed.[124] Upcoming concerts of Ukrainian singers Max Barskih and Tina Karol in Azerbaijan were cancelled after the two artists expressed their support to Armenia.[125] Barskih stated that "any country that launches aggression against another country is no place for my concerts".[126] Various foreign embassies including those of France, Britain, and the United States, issued travel advisories against visiting southern Armenia and areas which share a border with Azerbaijan, including the provinces of Syunik, Vayots Dzor, as well as southern Gegharkunik, and parts of Tavush.[127]
On 14 September, protests erupted in Armenia's capital, Yerevan, and in Stepanakert, the capital of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh calling for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation over his statements about a signing a potential peace agreement with Azerbaijan that would cause his government to "be criticized, cursed, called traitors".[128]
In Yerevan, protesters attempted to take down a barrier and access the parliament building, but were prevented by authorities, who decided to weld the gate. One opposition leader, Karin Tonoyan, urged protesters to start blockading government buildings and also issued a call for a nationwide strike.[129] The protesters chanted "Nikol the traitor".[130] Protesters near Yerevan's parliament building called on deputies to come to their offices and impeach Pashinyan. Former Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan reported that 35 opposition MPs signed a document to begin the impeachment procedure against Pashinyan. On the night of 15 September, opposition MPs proceeded to the parliament building to begin the impeachment process against Pashinyan, and were joined by demonstrators.[131]
In Stepanakert, thousands of protesters gathered to demand the resignation of the government in Armenia. The president of the self-proclaimed republic, Arayik Harutyunyan, responded to the protests by making a statement in which he rejected the prospect of Nagorno-Karabakh being part of Azerbaijan under any status, saying "the people of Artsakh decide their own destiny in their own homeland". He later added assurances that the negotiation process was not at a stage where a document would be signed any time soon, and affirmed that he had an agreement with the Armenian government that any such document signed by them "must take into account Artsakh's interests and the opinion of the people of the republic".[128]
On 18 September, the National Democratic Pole and European Party of Armenia organized a demonstration in Yerevan, demanding that Armenia withdraw its membership from the Collective Security Treaty Organization and start negotiations with other allies to create a new system of security.[132]
A number of Azerbaijani activists and opposition politicians voiced their criticism of the Azerbaijan government on their social media accounts following the military attacks.[133] Ali Karimli and Arif Hajili questioned the high number of deaths and the reason for the offensive, while others like Azar Gasimli and Nida Civic Movement posted anti-war messages. Following this, government-linked social media accounts started a campaign against these voices of opposition, branding them as "traitors". The youth wing of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) published a video compilation of various opposition representatives, who had expressed criticism with respect to the military attack, under the hashtag "#xainləritanı", which stands for: “know the traitors.”[134]
Ahmad Mammadli, the chair of an Azerbaijani pro-democracy group, was allegedly abducted on 20 September and later sentenced to 30 days in prison by a district court in Baku. Both Mammadli and the D18 Movement, of which he is a part, had posted several statements criticizing the Azerbaijani government after the military escalation. Independent Azerbaijani lawyer Samad Rahimli stated that he believes the prison sentence was ‘for criticizing the recent border clashes and Ilham Aliyev’.[135][136]
On 15 September, Qarabağ FK requested from UEFA for a minute of silence to be observed in honor of the fallen Azerbaijani soldiers during the Europa League group stage match against FC Nantes in Baku.[137] The head of the press service of the club, Gunduz Abbaszadeh, stated that such a move was not allowed by UEFA. Following that, the team's largest fan group, İmarət Tayfa, published a statement calling on everyone to observe a minute of silence after the starting whistle to respect the memories of the deceased Azerbaijani soldiers.[138] It was quickly distributed to a large number of users on the social network. Despite UEFA's ruling, approximately 30,000 spectators[138] turned on their phones' flashlights and observed a minute of silence following the starting whistle.[139]
Azerbaijan claimed that Armenian forces had staged "large-scale subversive acts" using "saboteurs" who planted landmines,[140][141][142][38] an allegation the government spread during the days following the invasion[39] and also echoed by Azerbaijan's ally Turkey.[39] Various journalists, politicians, and political analysts have scrutinized these allegations and consider them unfounded or unverifiable.[41][42][43][44][45][46] Arkady Dubnov, a political scientist and expert on the Southern Caucasus said "This doesn't look convincing, and everyone understands that this was a contrived excuse. No Azeri officials have provided any evidence to substantiate the incursion."[47]
Certain journalists and human rights organizations condemned popular media for not naming the aggressor and for misreporting the conflict as taking place in Nagorno-Karabakh. Thomas de Waal, a journalist and author of several books on the Caucuses, stated that media reports misleadingly described the fighting as "border clashes" and made reference to the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh despite the fact "no fighting took place in Karabakh...or indeed in Azerbaijani territory; it was all inside the territory of Armenia."[143] Brandon Balayan, an American journalist, says that The New York Times and The Associated Press inaccurately reported the fighting as "an ordinary [border] skirmish...over Nagorno-Karabakh...when in reality Azerbaijan attacked Armenia proper."[144] The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention criticized Western media outlets for using imprecise language such as "clash," "tensions," "flare up," "hostilities," during the September attacks and stated that "Western media needs to tell the truth and call the war on Armenia what it is: an aggressive war with clearly demonstrated genocidal intent against Armenians."[145]
According to Laurence Broers, Azerbaijan attacked now because of the sense that it is the moment to use power to take as much as possible, and because Russia, a mediator between Armenia and Azerbaijan, is distracted with its war in Ukraine. He stated that there is a possibility of the creation of new buffer zones in at least the southern half of Armenia, and that outside players are weak to prevent this from happening.[22][34]
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