2023 Nagorno-Karabakh clashes
![]() | This article documents a. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (September 2023) |
2023 Nagorno-Karabakh clashes | |||||||||
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Part of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict | |||||||||
![]() Military situation in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 Areas ceded to Azerbaijan under the 2020 ceasefire agreement
Areas in Nagorno-Karabakh proper remaining under the control of Artsakh at the start of the conflict
For a more detailed map, see the detailed map | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Units involved | |||||||||
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Casualties and losses | |||||||||
Unknown |
Per Artsakh:[4]
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Per Azerbaijan:[5][6] 10 Armenian civilians killed 40 Armenian civilians injured |
Between 19 and 20 September 2023, Azerbaijan initiated a military offensive against the self-declared breakaway state of Artsakh. The offensive took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is internationally recognized as a part of Azerbaijan, but populated by Armenians.[7][8][9][10] The attacks occurred in the midst of an escalating crisis caused by Azerbaijan blockading the Republic of Artsakh, which has resulted in significant scarcities of essential supplies such as food, medicine, and other goods in the affected region.[11]
One day after the offensive started, on 20 September, an agreement on establishing a complete cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh was reached at the mediation of the Russian peacekeeping command in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Nagorno-Karabakh Presidential Office said.[12] Azerbaijan said that a meeting will be held with representatives of Artsakh on 21 September in Yevlakh.[13][14]
Background
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians. The Nagorno-Karabakh region is entirely claimed by and partially de facto controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh but is recognized internationally as part of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan de facto controls one-third of Nagorno-Karabakh region as well as the seven surrounding districts.
The conflict escalated in 1988, when the Karabakh Armenians demanded the transfer of the region from Soviet Azerbaijan to Soviet Armenia, triggering the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. In late 2020, the large-scale Second Nagorno-Karabakh War resulted in thousands of casualties and a significant Azerbaijani victory. An armistice was established by a tripartite ceasefire agreement on 10 November, resulting in Armenia and Artsakh losing the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh as well as one-third of Nagorno-Karabakh itself.[15] Ceasefire violations in Nagorno-Karabakh and on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border have continued following the 2020 war, with intermittent but ongoing casualties.
Since the 2020 war, Azerbaijan has rescinded its offer of special status or autonomy to its indigenous Armenian residents and instead insists on their "integration" into Azerbaijan.[16][17] International mediators and human rights organizations have emphasized self-determination for the local Armenian population[18][19] and do not believe that Artsakh Armenians can live safely under the dynastic, authoritarian regime[20][21] of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.[22][23]
Prelude
Since December 2022, Azerbaijan has blockaded the Republic of Artsakh from the outside world, in violation of the 2020 ceasefire agreement and international legal rulings.[24] The Azerbaijani government seized territory around the Lachin corridor both within Artsakh and Armenia, blocked alternative bypass routes, and installed a military checkpoint.[25] Azerbaijan has also sabotaged critical civilian infrastructure of Artsakh, including gas, electricity, and Internet access.[26][27]
The blockade has created a humanitarian crisis for the population of Artsakh; imports of essential goods have been blocked, as well as humanitarian convoys of the Red Cross and the Russian peacekeepers, trapping the 120,000 residents of the region.[28][29] Shortages of essential goods – including electricity, fuel, and water reserves – are widespread and emergency reserves are being rationed, alongside massive unemployment, and closures of schools and public transportation.[30][31]
Azerbaijan claims its actions are aimed at preventing the transportation of weapons and natural resources;[32][33] Azerbaijan also says its goal is for Artsakh's "integration" into Azerbaijan, despite opposition from the population, and has threatened military action if the Artsakh government does not dissolve.[34][35]
Numerous countries, international organizations, and human rights observers have condemned Azerbaijan's blockade and consider it to be a form of hybrid warfare,[36][37] ethnic cleansing,[38] and genocide.[39][40] Multiple international observers also consider the blockade and the inaction of the Russian peacekeepers to be violations of the tripartite ceasefire agreement signed between Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia, which ended the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War and guarantees safe passage through the Lachin corridor.[41][42] Azerbaijan and Russia have ignored calls from various countries and international organizations to restore freedom of movement through the corridor.[43][44]
Two weeks before the clashes, the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention issued a report in which it said "There is alarming evidence that President [Ilham] Aliyev may be planning a military assault on Artsakh in the very near future," noting that Aliyev recently had signed a new decree ordering all eligible citizens 18 years of age or older to report for military service between 1 October and 31 October 2023. The Lemkin Institute also warned that "A military assault on Artsakh could lead to the mass murder stage of genocide. It would almost assuredly result in the forced displacement of Armenians from Artsakh and the widespread commission of genocidal atrocities...[and]...Artsakh's Armenians would lose their distinct identity as Artsakhsis, an identity that has been forged through centuries—millennia—of independent cultural flourishing in their mountains and valleys."[45]
Events
19 September
On 19 September 2023, the Azerbaijan Ministry of Defense released a statement, claiming that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces were shelled by Armenian forces, leading to increased tensions in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. It also said that there was fortification of battle positions, increased mobilization units, and expanded reconnaissance activities. The Ministry accused Armenia of killing two civilians on the same day with a vehicle with an attached land mine which then exploded. In response, the Ministry launched what it described as "local anti-terrorist activities" demanding the disarmament and withdrawal of all ethnic Armenian soldiers, as well as the unconditional surrender and dissolution of the Republic of Artsakh.[46] Four Azerbaijani policemen were reported killed by a bomb in the road to Shusha, according to Azerbaijan.[47] The statement ended with a notice that the Russian peacekeeping contingent and the Turkish-Russian Monitoring Center were informed about the ongoing activities,[48] but Russia denied this, adding that its peacekeepers were only informed of the matter a "few minutes" before it started.[49]
Azerbaijan claimed that no civilian positions were being attacked with weaponry, but it was clear that strikes were being carried out in close proximity to large cities and densely populated areas.[11] The attacks occurred in the midst of an escalating crisis caused by the Azerbaijani government effectively blockading the Republic of Artsakh. This blockade has resulted in significant scarcities of essential supplies such as food, medicine, and other goods in the affected region.[11] Azerbaijan said that it had set up “humanitarian corridors and reception points on the Lachin road and in other directions" which will "ensure the evacuation of the population from the dangerous area".[50] These announcements were distributed through SMS, leaflets, and social media and triggered fears of ethnic cleansing among the residents.[51] Artsakhi authorities warned its residents that "the Azerbaijani propaganda machine uses large-scale information and psychological influence measures."[52][53] The Cyber Security Service of Azerbaijan temporarily restricted access to TikTok in Azerbaijan.[54][55]
Nagorno-Karabakh's leadership offered to negotiate with Azerbaijan after it launched its military offensive. "The Karabakh side appeals to the Azerbaijani side to immediately cease the hostilities and sit down at the negotiation table with the aim of settling the situation", it said in a statement issued late in the afternoon. The office of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev responded by saying that it is ready to meet with Karabakh Armenian representatives in the Azerbaijani town of Yevlakh. It stressed at the same time that the Azerbaijani offensive will continue unless the Karabakh Armenians disband their government bodies and armed forces.[56] The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry later said that its forces had captured more than 60 military posts and destroyed up to 20 military vehicles.[57] The Armenian daily Azg ("Nation") reported there were claims that Azerbaijan had captured the villages of Charektar and Getavan.[58] The Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office claimed Armenian forces attacked Shusha with large-caliber weapons, killing one civilian.[59]
Artsakh authorities said the state's de facto capital, Stepanakert, and other cities were “under heavy shelling”, accusing Azerbaijan of attempted ethnic cleansing.[60][61] Artsakh's human rights ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan said two civilians, including a child, were killed,[62] while 11 others were injured,[63] eight of which were children.[49] By the end of the day, Artsakh reported that 27 people had been killed and more than 200 were injured.[64]
Artsakh authorities reported that they had evacuated over 7,000 people from 16 rural settlements,[65] while Russian peacekeepers evacuated 500 others.[66] Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova announced that Russian food and medicine arrived in Artsakh via the Lachin and Agdam routes.[67]
20 September
Armenian sources claimed that Aznavur Saghyan, the mayor of Martuni, was killed in an Azerbaijani attack.[68] He was killed by an Azerbaijani sniper.[69] Reports also suggested that the Amaras Monastery near Sos had fallen under Azerbaijani control.[70] Azg reported it had been informed that, during their offensive, the forces of Azerbaijan had captured the settlements of Chankatagh, Chapar, Charektar, Getavan, Karmir Shuka, Khachmach, Machkalashen, Sarushen Shosh and Vaghuhas.[71] Artsakhi president Samvel Shahramanyan said "Nagorno-Karabakh will have to take relevant steps to ensure physical security of population".[72]
Artsakhi authorities agreed to a proposal by Russian peacekeeping forces to establish a ceasefire from 13:00 on 20 September.[73] Under the terms of the agreement, the government of the Republic of Artsakh agreed to disarm and to enter into talks with the government of Azerbaijan regarding the reintegration of the territory.[74]
Among the Azerbaijani demands, there was a requirement for Arsakh and Armenia to surrender a list of individuals to Azerbaijan for prosecution and trial, including former and current Artsakhi civilian and military leaders.[75][76] Large masses of Armenian civilians began fleeing Artsakh after the ceasefire announcement.[77][78]
Colonel Anar Eyvazov , Spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, announced that during the operation, Azerbaijan had captured 90 combat positions held by the Armed Forces of Armenia, which would have not withdrawn despite what was agreed in the 2020 ceasefire agreement as he declared. Eyvazov also said that Azerbaijani forces had captured seven combat vehicles, one tank, four mortars and two infantry fighting vehicles from Armenian military units as trophies.[3]
Shelling of Stepanakert continued until the city's electrical grid was knocked out several hours after the ceasefire was supposed to go into effect.[79][80] According to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense, several peacekeepers were killed near the village of Chankatagh in the Tartar District. Their vehicle was attacked while they were returning from an observation post.[81][82][83] Although the Russian Ministry of Defense hasn't stated who killed the peacekeepers, the Russian commanders summoned Azeri commanders to work out the circumstances of the incident.[84][85] An Armenian news agency, News.am stated that the peacekeepers were killed in Azerbaijan's shellings.[86]
Analysis
Various political analysts and Artsakh residents consider Azerbaijan's underlying goal for the offensive to be ethnic cleansing.[50][87]
Thomas de Waal, a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe, noted that Azerbaijan was possibly emboldened to start its offensive during a downturn in relations between Russia and Armenia, and the loss of the Russian peacekeeping force's "best commanders" to the invasion of Ukraine. He also said that Russia could use such a crisis to instigate regime change in Armenia.[49]
Reactions
- Armenia
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the Armenian Armed Forces were not involved in the fighting and that its forces were not stationed in Nagorno-Karabakh. He also reiterated that the situation in the Armenia-Azerbaijan border was stable and said that Azerbaijan was trying to ethnically cleanse the region.[60] Pashinyan also said that Azerbaijan's motivation for the attack was to draw Armenia into a military confrontation.[52] Armenia’s Ministry of Defense accused Azerbaijani officials of spreading misinformation, saying that there is no Armenian military equipment or personnel present in Nagorno-Karabakh.[60][88] The Armenian foreign ministry accused Azerbaijan of unleashing “large-scale aggression” against Karabakh and attempting “ethnic cleansing” in the region.[60][61] Armenia called on the United Nations Security Council and Russia to take action in order to end the military operation, while Pashinyan called an emergency meeting of the country's National Security Council.[60]
Hundreds of protesters gathered for a rally outside government buildings in the capital Yerevan denouncing Pashinyan as being soft on Azerbaijan and weak in Nagorno-Karabakh, with some calling for a coup d'état and the removal of Pashinyan from office. Pashinyan denounced such calls stating that "We must not allow certain people, certain forces to deal a blow to the Armenian state."[89] These protesters were met by a police cordon, and clashed with the police in an attempt to storm the Government House.[90] The protesters and police would exchange glass bottles and stun grenades and several of the buildings windows were smashed.[91] Protesters also surrounded the Russian embassy in Yerevan criticizing Russia's refusal to intervene in the conflict.[92] Several in attendance were members-elect of the Yerevan City Council, elected two days prior during the 2023 Yerevan City Council election.[93] After Russia protested that the security of their embassy was lacking and impacting their diplomatic mission's ability, Armenian police were sent to form a cordon around the embassy, resulting in a clash between the protesters and police.[94] More than 30 people were reportedly injured in the protests,[64] which resumed the following day.[95]
- Azerbaijan
Hikmet Hajiyev, advisor to the Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, said Baku would only be ready to talk to the Karabakh Armenians once they surrendered and disarmed. He also stated that Azerbaijan has no military objective in Armenia.[96]
- Russia
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement that Russia was "deeply alarmed by the sharp escalation."[60][97] Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia will not defend Armenia from the Azerbaijani offensive, while strongly criticizing Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan.[98] This comes despite Russia and Armenia both being members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization mutual defense pact and Russia stationing several thousand soldiers in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh as peacekeepers.[99]
- Turkey
Hakan Fidan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, offered diplomatic support to Azerbaijan, stating that their military operation was "justified" and that "Azerbaijan has taken the measures it deems necessary on its own sovereign territory."[100] Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated "As everyone now acknowledges, Karabakh is Azerbaijani territory. Imposition of another status [to the region] will never be accepted," and that "[Turkey] support[s] the steps taken by Azerbaijan — with whom we act together with the motto of one nation, two states — to defend its territorial integrity."[101]
- Other countries
Argentina: President Alberto Fernández condemned Azerbaijan for what he called the blockade of the Lachin corridor and urged the international community to "act preemptively" to avoid what Fernández categorized as "new persecutions."[102][103]
France: The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned the military operation and called for Azerbaijan "to immediately cease its assault and return to respect for international law" and requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.It stated that France had been "working closely with its European and American partners" to effectively respond to the attack, which it described as "unacceptable".[104] Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said it would hold Azerbaijan "responsible for the fate of Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.”[64]
Germany: Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock accused Azerbaijan of breaking its promise not to resort to military action in Nagorno-Karabakh and called on it to stop and return to negotiations.[105]
United States: Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Turkish diplomats about the crisis.[104] Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations called on the U.S. and the international community to act to stop Azerbaijan while Representative Brad Sherman stated that the renewed fighting makes clear that "Azerbaijan cannot receive U.S. military aid until it ends the crisis it has created."[106]
- International organizations
European Union: President of the European Council of the European Union Charles Michel condemned Azerbaijan's hostility and urged the country to immediately stop its military activities and return to dialogue, through a social media post.[60]
Organization of Turkic States: The secretary general expressed "serious concern regarding the Armenian provocations against Azerbaijan's sovereignty and territorial integrity" and condemned "the recent terror acts committed against Azerbaijan". He also expressed the "anti-terror measures conducted by Azerbaijan, will ensure reintegration of the Armenian residents living in the into the constitutional system of the Republic of Azerbaijan".[107]
United Nations: U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told Al Jazeera that the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh was "very concerning". He urged both sides to halt hostilities and go back to "sustained dialogue".[60]
See also
- September 2022 Armenia–Azerbaijan clashes
- 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
- List of conflicts between Azerbaijan and Armenia
- Armenia–Azerbaijan relations
References
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President Aliyev told Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians to 'obey the laws of Azerbaijan [and] be a loyal and normal citizen of Azerbaijan'. He threatened that if the territory’s separatist institutions were not dissolved, Azerbaijan would dissolve them by force and rejected the prospect of international protections for ethnic Armenians.
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For nearly 30 years, they built a self-proclaimed independent republic with democratic elections, a free press, and a range of public institutions. Officially, it remained within the territorial boundaries of Azerbaijan, unrecognized by any foreign country, though international mediators made reference to the right of self-determination for local Armenians as part of ongoing peace talks.
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With Azerbaijan now starving the 120,000 people it claims are its citizens, many observers now agree that the idea that Karabakh Armenians can live safely in Ilham Aliyev’s Azerbaijan is hardly credible.
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The following week saw a reconfiguration of road links and military positions in the Lachin Corridor, with Azerbaijani forces constructing a new military post, taking control of strategic heights, ignoring Russian calls to return to their original locations, and seizing land in Armenia around the new road leading from the villages of Tegh and Kornidzor towards Karabakh.
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[the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe]...is extremely worried by events...which culminated on 12 December 2022 with the interruption of the free and safe passage through the Lachin corridor and the subsequent deliberate cutting of electricity and gas supplies to the region... [The Assembly]...urges Azerbaijan to restore electricity and gas supplies without delay or impediment.
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whereas this humanitarian crisis was further aggravated by Azerbaijan’s disruption of the natural gas supply to Nagorno-Karabakh, which left houses, hospitals and schools without heating...[the European Parliament]...urges Azerbaijan to refrain from undermining the functioning of transport, energy and communication connections between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh in future.
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Armenian civilians of Nagorno Karabakh and surrounding regions along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border are threatened by Azerbaijan’s military and face violence if they try to leave Armenian territory within disputed areas.
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Others see the escalating humanitarian situation as a way to trigger an exodus. It is "indirect ethnic cleansing", said Giragosian, of the Regional Studies Center. "Not by bayonet, but rather by creating unbearable conditions." Suleymanov, the Azerbaijani ambassador, said Baku instead wanted to achieve full integration of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. "They are our citizens", he said, adding that he believed they would be passport-holders soon.
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... Russia is not opposed to allowing Azerbaijan use a hybrid warfare strategy such as this one, which is blockading the only corridor that’s a lifeline to, quite basically, eventually pressure Armenia into an actual peace deal, into concessions ...
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By utilizing pseudo eco-protesters instead of military movements by Azerbaijani forces, as was the previous strategy, and causing a humanitarian crisis accompanied with false narratives and disinformation, Azerbaijan is employing hybrid warfare tactics against the Armenians. This operation is pursuing short-, mid- and long-term objectives.
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Luis Moreno Ocampo, the founding Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, argues that "there is a reasonable basis to believe that a genocide is being committed against Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023," adding that it "should be considered a genocide under Article II (c) of the [UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide] (Genocide Convention): 'Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction.'" Ocampo further added that “There are no crematories, and there are no machete attacks. Starvation is the invisible genocide weapon. Without immediate dramatic change, this group of Armenians will be destroyed in a few weeks.”
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Political analyst and peace activist Bahruz Samadov said the goal was the ethnic cleansing of the region’s Armenian population. ‘The ultimate goal is to de-Armenianize Nagorno-Karabakh. The constant ontological insecurity that Azerbaijan preserves in [Nagorno-Karabakh] is the policy that has a destination — to destroy Nagorno-Karabakh’s agency. The same policy of blockage and bombardment already took place in the 1990s.’
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