Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev blamed the latest outbreak of fighting with the Armenian army in the Nagorno-Karabakh pocket this weekend on the "detachment" of the international community, which has killed hundreds of people.
Fighting escalated this weekend, with both
Armenian and Azeri troops shelling civilian areas. Buses carrying citizens and
foreign journalists are reportedly fleeing from Stepanakert, a key city in
Nagorno-Karabakh. It is home to about 55,000 people after the Ezra bombing.
Both sides are facing disputes over
pockets. It is an internationally recognized Azeri territory but ruled by the
ethnic Armenian, self-proclaimed republic of Artsakh, which has been in
operation for decades, but the most recent violence since the 2016 war is extremely
serious.
Initially, the fighting was limited to
frontline areas with limited populations. But both sides are now bombing urban
areas behind the front, armaments hitting infrastructure targets and urban
neighborhoods.
At least 18 civilians have been killed’
and 90 wounded since fighting broke out last week, Artesian officials say,
while Azerbaijani officials say at least one civilian was killed in an Armenian
shelling of the town of Ganja on Sunday. Killed and seriously injured.
Stepanakert was left’ without power for
several hours this weekend after the Azeri attacks, while a video of Azeri
missile attacks and cluster bomb attacks on a neighborhood allegedly attacked a
civilian has been shown.
"From now on, military installations
permanently stationed in major cities of Azerbaijan are legitimate targets of
the defense forces," Artsakh leader Arayik Harutyunyan told the Armen
Press Agency. Artesian forces later claimed to have retaliated against the
airport and other military targets in Ganja, although Azeri and Turkish
officials said the attacks took place in urban areas.
Despite international calls for calm,
Aliyev said Sunday that Azerbaijani forces would continue their operations
until all Armenian-occupied territories were’ occupied. The history of ethnic
cleansing, coupled with the aggressive genocide of Azerbaijan and its key ally
Turkey, has led to fears of civilian casualties and deportations if the
Stagnant and other urban areas fight in Nagorno-Karabakh.
"The Armenian leadership is the first
to be blamed for this situation," Aliyev said in a televised address on
Sunday. "Apart from that, some quarters in several countries have been
showing disengagement from the issue so that the occupation never ends,"
the president said. The President said.
"We wanted to resolve this issue
through dialogue," Aliyev added. "We showed patience." We have
always taken a fair stance in negotiations and demanded what is required of us.
We have never claimed other people's lands. But we are insisting that this is
our land and it must be handed’ over to it. We communicate. "
"For thirty years, the country has
relied on the hope that the international community will solve this problem,
but it has never happened," he added.
Azerbaijan's military says its forces have
seized seven villages since fighting began last Sunday. In Nagorno-Karabakh,
meanwhile, the Artisan Force says troops have "improved" their
front-line positions.
The United States, Russia and France -
members of the so-called Minsk Group, which is leading international mediation
efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan - are trying to sign a ceasefire
agreement. Armenia has said it is "ready to engage" with the
mediators.
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