According to the Armenian Ministry of Defense, Attacks by Azerbaijan were still ongoing as of 0800 local time, despite the Russian claim of a ceasefire.
The strikes come as a continuation of the artillery, UAV, and mortar attacks first reported at 0005 local time (GMT +4) on Tuesday, September 13th. While there have been a number of flare-ups in the Karabakh region since the end of the nations’ six week war in 2020, this week’s attacks are unique in that they target locations on the Armenian side of the border, away from any contested territory.
Armenia’s Ministry of Defense has claimed that while things have calmed down over a majority of the line of contact, artillery still continues to strike in Jermuk and Verin Shorza. The MoD’s claim is that the attacks are landing on both civilian and military targets.
The intense fighting began after Azerbaijani claims of Armenian sabotage in the directions of Dashkasan, Kalbajar and Lachin of the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border.
In order to prevent the provocation of the armed forces of Armenia and military threats against the territory and sovereignty of our country, and to ensure the safety of our military personnel, including civilian workers involved in infrastructure works in the territory of Kalbajar and Lachin regions, decisive response measures are being taken by the units of the Azerbaijan Army deployed in this direction.
Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan
“In order to prevent the provocation of the armed forces of Armenia and military threats against the territory and sovereignty of our country, and to ensure the safety of our military personnel, including civilian workers involved in infrastructure works in the territory of Kalbajar and Lachin regions, decisive response measures are being taken by the units of the Azerbaijan Army deployed in this direction.” – Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan
The Armenian government responded to these assertions by calling them “…Another piece of disinformation,” and provided video and images to foreign entities and press of what appear to be Azerbaijani troops crossing into Armenian territory on Monday night.
The morning after the attacks began, Armenian Prime Minster, Nikol Pashinyan, called upon the Russian Federation and President Vladimir Putin to implement the conditions of the two nations’ “Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance” that they reached as participants in the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
Tuesday, at 0900 Moscow Time, the Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that they had brokered a ceasefire.
Since then, the Armenian Ministry of Defense has claimed that hostile activity has diminished, but the bombardments continue.
This is a developing story. There will be more on the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as further analysis and editorials in the coming weeks.
