On Monday, Azerbaijani and Armenian forces fought for a second day, after which heavy fighting left dozens dead, raising fears of fighting between longtime enemies.
Defense officials from both countries have
confirmed that fierce clashes continue on Sunday with the fronts in the
Nagorno-Karabakh ethnic Armenian region of Azerbaijan.
The separatists said Monday that 15 more
of their fighters had been killed, bringing the total number of deaths on both
sides to 39.
With all sides blaming each other for the
latest confrontation, world leaders have quietly insisted that it is the result
of fears of a large-scale conflict that could escalate into a regional power
between Russia and Turkey.
Former Soviet Armenia and Azerbaijan have
been embroiled in the Nagorno-Karabakh regional conflict for decades, with
deadly battles being fought’ earlier this year and in 2016.
The region declared independence after a
war in the early 1990s that killed 30,000 people but was not recognized’ by any
country, including Armenia, and is still recognized by the international
community. Part of Azerbaijan.
The Karabakh ministry said Monday that 32
of its fighters had been killed’ in fresh clashes. Earlier, seven civilian
deaths were reported’ including an Azerbaijani family of five Armenians and a
woman and child.
Azerbaijan has not yet announced any
military casualties, but Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Shushan Stepanyan claimed
that "dozens of bodies of Azerbaijani soldiers" were lying in the
area and returned overnight.
He said heavy fighting continued along the
front lines on Monday morning, claiming that the Armenian army had won the
positions it had won in Azerbaijan on Sunday.
But Baku claimed further progress.
Azerbaijani forces are "strengthening
enemy positions using rocket artillery and aviation ... and they have gained
several strategic positions around the village of Talysh,"
the defense ministry said.
"The enemy is retreating," he
added.
- For Marshall -
Armenian military officials say
Azerbaijani troops continue to use heavy artillery to attack rebel strongholds,
while Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry accuses separatist forces of shelling
civilian targets in the city of Tartar. ۔
Baku claims to have killed 550 separatist
soldiers, denying an Armenian report.
This increase has given rise to a spirit
of patriotism in both countries.
"We have been waiting for this day
for a long time. The fighting should not stop until we force Armenia to return
our lands," Vidadi Alekperov, a 39-year-old waiter in Baku, told AFP.
"
"I will gladly go to the
battlefield."
In Yerevan, Vardan Harutyunyan, 67, said
Armenia was expecting the attack.
"The (Karabakh) question can only be
resolved militarily. We are not afraid of any war," he said.
Fighting between Muslim Azerbaijan and
Christian-majority Armenia threatens to join a military alliance with regional
players Russia, Yerevan and Turkey, which support Baku.
Armenia accuses Turkey of meddling in the
conflict and sending troops to the battlefield.
France, Germany, Italy, the United States,
the European Union and Russia have all called for a ceasefire.
Armenia and Karabakh announced martial law
and military mobilization on Sunday, while Azerbaijan imposed military rule and
curfews in major cities.
Negotiations to resolve the conflict - one
of the worst since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 - have been largely
stalled’ since the 1994 ceasefire agreement.
International brokers need to step up
their efforts to stem the uptrend, analysts told AFP on Sunday.
France, Russia and the United States have
mediated peace efforts as "Minsk Group" but the last major push for a
peace deal ended in 2010.
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