Armenian and Azerbaijani forces clashed on Saturday as fighting intensified in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, with Armenia reported heavy losses and its leader saying it was facing a historic threat.
Yerevan's Defense Ministry says separatist
forces in Karabakh have repulsed a major Azerbaijani attack, sparking renewed
fighting in the decades-old conflict over the ethnic-Armenian Brexit province.
Armenia also announced the deaths of 51
more separatist fighters, bringing the death toll on both sides to more than
240.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry
said its forces had "taken new steps" and President Ilham Aliyev
claimed that his forces had taken control of the strategic village of Madgiz in
connection with the firing on a key northern road. has taken.
Addressing the nation on Saturday, Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinyan called on the Armenians to unite.
"We are facing the most decisive
moment in our millennial history," Pashinyan said.
"We all have a single goal:
victory."
The clashes erupted after artillery and
rocket fire hit the regional capital, Stephencart, on Saturday, and local
defense officials later reported more explosions.
The fight against Nagorno-Karabakh has
threatened to attract powerful players such as Russia and Turkey.
Armenia is part of the Moscow-led military
alliance of former Soviet countries, which maintains a military base there,
while NATO member Turkey has indicated its full support for Azerbaijan's
military operations.
- The 'Last War'.
Both sides have been accused’ of targeting
civilian areas, and Azerbaijan said on Saturday that Armenian artillery had
shelled 19 of its settlements overnight.
In Stephencart on Saturday, residents
cleared debris and spilled glass from shattered windows in their homes and
shops.
"This is a great tragedy for our
community, for our people," electrician Nelson Adiman, 65, told AFP
outside his dilapidated residential building.
"But we will stand up for our
freedom. We will always be free."
However, others decided to flee.
AFP reporters saw families gathering in
the border town of Gorus as the first step to reach Yerevan, 350km (220 miles)
northwest.
Dropped in front of a gray Soviet-style
hotel, they waited for public bus officials to send or expect lifts from taxi
service volunteers.
"We must come to the aid of those who
helped the families leave Yerevan," Aini said.
"We can help like our country."
The new fighting began on September 27 and
has not met international calls for an end to hostilities.
Karabakh’s leader, Ariak Harutionian, said
he was going to join "fierce fighting" on the front lines.
In Armenia, 209 military deaths and 14
civilian deaths have been’ reported. Azerbaijan has reported 19 civilian
casualties but has not confirmed any casualties in its military.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights has recorded the deaths of at least 36 militants fighting Syrian forces
alongside Azerbaijani forces in the past 48 hours, bringing the death toll to
64.
The war monitor said 1,200 fighters from
pro-Ankara Syrian factions had been dispatched’ to the conflict.
- Identity Calls -
Russia, the United States and France -
whose leaders co-head a mediation group that has failed to find a political
solution to the conflict - called for an immediate ceasefire this week.
Armenia said on Friday it was "ready
to engage" with the mediators, but Azerbaijan - which considers Karabakh
under Armenian occupation - said the Armenian army should withdraw completely
before breaking the ceasefire. ۔
Karabakh’s declaration of independence
from Azerbaijan during the collapse of the Soviet Union sparked a war in the
early 1990s that killed 30,000 people.
Negotiations to resolve the dispute have
made little progress since the 1994 ceasefire agreement.
The breakaway province is not recognized’
as independent by any country - including Armenia. And Karabakh’s foreign
ministry said Saturday that there is "international recognition for peace
and security in the region."
Yerevan has accused Turkey of sending
mercenaries from Syria and Libya. Russia and France have confirmed and
condemned the allegations.
Aliyev on Saturday briefed Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the civilian casualties and thanked Turkey
for its support.
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