cease-fire violations by azeris

[Yervant1]

Jan 22 2022

Karabakh: Azerbaijanis committed 69 crimes since 2020 ceasefire

January 22, 2022 - 14:40 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Azerbaijani military has committed 69 crimes against the civilian population of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) since a ceasefire statement was signed on November 9, 2020, the Prosecutor General's office of Artsakh reports in a statement.

In total, 54 criminal cases have been launched to investigate the crimes committed by Azeri servicemen stationed near the border settlements and villages of Karabakh, the statement adds.

There have been 5 murders, 28 attempted murders, 1 terrorist act, 12 instances of destruction of property, 16 cases of attempted destruction and damage to property, 3 cases of theft, 2 cases of robbery, 3 cases of destruction of graves, 4 cases of torture, 1 case of threatening to kill, 1 case of kidnapping, the statement reveals.

Three civilians and 10 servicemen were killed in the reporting period, 37 people received gunshot wounds, while six others were physically abused.

"This information proves that after the trilateral statement, Azerbaijan has been regularly violating the condition of "complete cessation of fire and hostilities" mentioned in Article 1 of the statement, as a result of which people are being killed, the simple rights necessary for human existence are being violated," the Prosecutor's office reports.

https://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/298019/Karabakh_Azerbaijanis_committed_69_crimes_since_2020_ceasefire

[Yervant1]

I don't believe, where were they when the attacks were happening on Armenian soil?

Public Radio of Armenia

Feb 9 2022

CSTO will provide military assistance if Armenia applies for – Stanislav Zas

February 9, 2022, 16:00

1 minute read

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) will provide military assistance if Armenia applies for, CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas declared today, Izvestia reports.

“If there is such an appeal, all our emergency response centers, mechanisms will be put into action,” he said on the sidelines of the Valdai Club conference.

Zas said that a crisis response working group was created within the framework of the CSTO after the peacekeeping operation in Kazakhstan.

“We have now created a working group and are carefully studying this first practical experience of ours, all our actions. We will test, first of all, the crisis response system. We need to be able to quickly and effectively use the existing potential in any conditions and at any point in the zone of CSTO responsibility,” he said.

According to the Secretary General, the operation in Kazakhstan showed the effectiveness of existing mechanisms. “We got the first practical experience and made sure that the forces and means that our organization possesses, and the mechanisms for their use that have been created over 20 years, they really function and allow us to solve the tasks that our organization faces,” he said.

 

https://en.armradio.am/2022/02/09/csto-to-provide-military-assistance-if-armenia-applies-for/

 

 

[Yervant1]

Public Radio of Armenia

Feb 15 2022

Armenian soldier wounded in Azerbaijani shooting in Artsakh

February 15, 2022, 21:52

Less than a minute

At around 16:15 on February 15, the Azerbaijani troops violated the ceasefire regime in the eastern border zone of the Artsakh Republic.

Conscript of Artsakh’s Defense Army Khachatur Khachatryan was wounded in the shooting.

The condition of the soldier is assessed as serious.

The Russian peacekeepers have been informed abouh the incident.

At present, the operative-tactical situation in the mentioned part of the line if contact is stable.

 

https://en.armradio.am/2022/02/15/armenian-soldier-wounded-in-azerbaijani-shooting-in-artsakh/

[Yervant1]

This should be translated to English, we Armenians know it already!

Public Radio of Armenia

Feb 16 2022

44-day war: New film documents recruitment of mercenaries to fight against Artsakh

February 16, 2022, 17:12

Less than a minute

44-day war: Mercenaries – the new documentary produced by the Orbeli Information-Analytical Center of the Public Relations and Information Center SNCO of the RA Prime Minister’s Office refers to the recruitment of mercenaries by Azerbaijan (with the support of Turkey) to fight against Artsakh.

Back in the first Artsakh war, in 1993-94, according to various sources, 1000-3000 Afghan mercenaries fought in the Azerbaijani army. In 2020, Syrian mercenaries who had moved to Azerbaijan before the war participated in the hostilities.

Based on facts, information of investigative bodies and expert analysis, the film 44-day war: Mercenaries documents the participation of Turkey and Syrian mercenaries in the war.

44-օրյա պատերազմ. Վարձկաններ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b24TkFGeAjA

https://en.armradio.am/2022/02/16/44-day-war-mercenaries/

 

[Yervant1]

NEWS.am

Armenia - Feb 16 2022

Azerbaijanis force out, at gunpoint, Karabakh farmers cultivating vineyards

Today, the Azerbaijani armed forces forced out, at gunpoint, the farmers doing agricultural work in the vineyards of Khramort village. Zorik Abrahamyan, the head of Khramort village of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), told this to Armenian News-NEWS.am Wednesday.

"They [i.e., the Azerbaijani soldiers] do not allow our residents to work [there]. The Azerbaijanis have threatened them not to come to those territories anymore. Russian peacekeepers were also present at that moment. The Azerbaijanis have forced out, under the influence of weapons, our farmers from the gardens, but there was no shooting," Abrahamyan said, adding that he had informed his superiors about this incident.

According to him, not only the residents of Khramort, but also those of the neighboring village work in those gardens.

"The villagers are engaged in cattle breeding, gardening. [but] now it turns out that they are deprived of their source of income," said the head of Khramort village.

Also as reported earlier, at around 3:30pm on Tuesday, while Khnapat village resident K.M. (born in 1983) was plowing in Khramort village with a tractor, one of the latter’s tires was damaged by the shots fired at him from the Azerbaijani combat position.

Azerbaijan armed forces targeted Artsakh resident in Russian peacekeepers’ presence, says village head

https://news.am/eng/news/687121.html

[Yervant1]

Open Democracy

Feb 22 2022

At this time of tension, EU needs to remember Nagorno-Karabakh

A message to the EU (and the US): despite a possible escalation in Ukraine, don’t forget the other major conflict in the region

Yervand ShirinyanDavid Amiryan

22 February 2022, 12.47pm

The 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 left thousands dead, but it did not put an end to the longest-running conflict in the South Caucasus. What is worse is that the grim situation in Ukraine threatens a renewed large-scale conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The status quo has changed dramatically and the two sides can no longer be treated as equal sides to the conflict. Today, Armenia, having lost the war, is being subjected to aggression.

In this context, a much more engaged EU (and US) is necessary.

First, it is critical to pressure Azerbaijan to move away from its aggressive approach and instead embrace negotiations on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group. The message should be unambiguous: the use of force is not an option and will be met with consequences.

Second, the EU could push for – and support – a monitoring mission along the border. The EU’s common security and defence policy (CSDP) mission has been used in similar contexts and could go a long way to stabilise the situation on the ground. Such a mission could enable the creation of a demilitarised zone in Nagorno-Karabakh, creating a conducive environment for determining the border. In parallel, the EU should push for a border delimitation and demarcation process, ideally under the OSCE.

Last but not least, decisive measures should be taken for the return of Armenian prisoners of war (POWs) who are, more than a year later, still detained in Azerbaijan. Despite many statements calling for the return of these POWs, Azerbaijan still holds dozens of them, in violation of international humanitarian law.

Also, earlier this month, Azerbaijan announced plans to erase elements of Armenian culture in Nagorno-Karabakh, such as Armenian inscriptions at religious sites. An outcry ensued internationally, but the situation warrants more drastic measures, including targeted individual sanctions as well as conditions attached to aid, particularly in light of the EU’s recently approved aid package to Azerbaijan of 2 billion euros.

The need for these actions can be explained by the complex situation in the region. Active hostilities have largely stopped, thanks to the presence of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh following the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement brokered by Moscow. However, the situation remains far from peaceful. There are still numerous localised incidents, in addition to larger instances of armed clashes, such as the ones on 16 November 2021 and 12 January 2022.

Stalemate amid continuing tension

The 2020 war between Armenia and Azerbaijan significantly altered the geopolitics of the South Caucasus. First, Turkey’s active role in the conflict and the support it gave Azerbaijan, including the recruitment of Syrian mercenaries, significantly increased its influence in the region. Second, the institutional framework for settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the OSCE Minsk Group, has been undermined. Emboldened by his victory, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has been publicly stating that the conflict is over and refusing to engage with the Minsk Group.

There is a real threat of ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh

This begs the question what will happen to the Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh once the Russian peacekeeping mission finishes in less than four years. Given the brutalities documented during the war, the state-promoted Armenophobia in Azerbaijan, and post-war incidents that target the Armenian population, there is a real threat of ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Another important consequence of the war is the change in the de-facto borders between the two countries. In some locations, the Armenian and Azerbaijani armed forces are only a few hundred metres away from each other. This has had a major impact on the rights and livelihoods of local communities. Residents of border communities have been taken captive, their crops set on fire and their cattle stolen.

Recent meetings between Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and President Aliyev, two of which were mediated by the EU, have produced only modest results. One outcome is that there is now a direct line between the defence ministers of the two countries, to prevent border skirmishes. The two countries also agreed to take steps towards unblocking railway connections.

One of the most important unsolved issues is where the border goes. Russia has proposed the creation of a border demarcation committee (which it would lead), but no progress is yet in sight.

The explosive situation in Ukraine could have devastating consequences for the Caucasus, including a new conflict. Despite a personal ‘friendship’ between presidents Putin and Erdogan, Russia has been increasingly annoyed by Turkey, which has not recognised Russian control of Crimea, and because it has provided Ukraine with armed drones. There has also been recent tension between Azerbaijan and Russia, particularly over Russia’s peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan and Turkey will be tempted to use force again in the region, especially as their earlier actions did not generate adequate international condemnation.

The EU has the tools to prevent the worst. It now needs the will.

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/at-this-time-of-tension-eu-needs-to-remember-nagorno-karabakh/

[Yervant1]

Sweden, Feb 2022

Nuri Kino: Christians in Armenia battle for their history (In english)

Independent investigative reporter, activist and minority rights expert Nuri Kino reports from the country with an extremely long Christian history.

Nuri Kino reports on the Christian presence, on location in Armenia. (Nuri Kino: Transparent Armenia Charitable Foundation: Haik Kazarian)

Av Nuri Kino

25 februari 2022 11:30

Suddenly, from one day to the next, bombs started to fall on Nagorna-Karabakh, an Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan. Pictures of tens of thousands of fleeing Armenians were flashed all over the world. Just a few days into the war, which lasted 44 days, new images came, now of destroyed churches and of jihadists from Syria who said in videos that they wanted to kill infidels. Many activists in the Western world, Armenians and other Christians interpreted the new conflict as a war of religion.

ARMENIA. It was the fall of 2020, and many of us felt we were re-living the attacks on Christians, Yazidis and moderate Muslims in Iraq and Syria during the summer and fall of 2014 by the terrorist group Isis. Just like then, videos of panicked fleeing Armenian families with children left many of us sleepless. We could not sit still and watch. My organization A Demand for Action (ADFA), raised funds used for food for tens of thousands of people. We also collected and sent 40 tons of winter clothing that the local charity Transparent Armenia Charitable Foundation helped distribute.

But was it really a religious war?

Armenia was the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as its state religion in the year 301 AD, while Azerbaijan is a Muslim country. Political scientists and other researchers believe that religion was a secondary cause of the war. That it is about natural resources and geopolitical location. However, a large part of the population on both sides see it as a religious war.

At the end of December 2021, I was finally able to go to Armenia to better understand the conflict with its neighbouring countries of Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Where Christianity first established

Two people I spent time with were journalist Raffi Elliott and activist Haik Kazarian. They claim that Christianity in Armenia gained momentum as early as 50 AD. The apostle Judas Thaddeus is the one who first exposed Armenians to Christianity. It is extra exciting for me, a Syriac Orthodox Christian, as it is claimed that Judas Thaddeus was from northern Mesopotamia, maybe from the Turabdin region, where I have roots. This is among the places where historians believe that Christianity had its origins, and from where it spread.

Judas Thaddeus is said to have been clubbed to death or beheaded. The manner of his martyrdom is disputed but he was buried in 66 AD. The church that marks his tomb is called the Black Church and is located in today’s northwestern Iran, on the border with Armenia.

“Armenia is so much more than Christianity and religion, we are a people who have fought for our existence for thousands of years. For example, we have our very own alphabet, language and culture”, says Kazarian emphatically.

Nuri Kino outside the temple in Garni. (Privat)

A Temple from 700 BC

My two companions suggest that we go to Garni, a temple in Armenia from 700 BC, which a few months ago ended up on a Belgian magazine’s list of the 51 most beautiful historic buildings in the world from Roman times. Garni was a temple where the Armenian sun god Mihr was worshipped.

When we get there, a few days after New Year, the Swedish pop group ABBA’s “Happy New Year” is playing loudly from the sound system. I am filled with pride in our Swedish pop wonder, and can’t help laughing at the meeting of cultures. Sweden meets Armenia. Pop culture meets history.

Outside the temple, there are stalls selling sweets and souvenirs. We buy Gata, an Armenian speciality, a kind of soft cake that has a faint and smooth taste of vanilla. It is considered sacred and served fresh during Candlemas. Elliott insists we eat one. I also buy pomegranate juice rolls. It is a delicacy eaten at Christmas and Easter in most Christian communities in the Middle East and the Caucasus. Pistachios rolled in dried pomegranate or various fruit juices; a sour and full-bodied taste.

We get in the car to drive to our next destination. Between bites of the sweets, Elliott asks me to look out the window. Along the road, in towns and villages, there are graves, new and old. They are dedicated to those who fell as martyrs during the various wars. They are adorned with a mixture of plastic roses that look real and fresh flowers that are replaced daily.

We stop at one of the graveyards and read the inscriptions on the tombstone. I notice a difference between these graves and others. On some of them, the epitaph is a short story of the heroic deeds of the one buried there. It becomes obvious how proud Armenians are of soldiers and volunteers who are all called “war heroes”.

One of all the graves of the martyrs who fell during the last war. (Nuri Kino)

The 44-day war

In the fall of 2020, up to 100,000 ethnic Armenians were forced to flee Nagorno-Karabakh, or Artsakh, as they call it. During the 44-day war, 6,000 soldiers, both Azeris and Armenians were killed. After six weeks of deadly clashes, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a ceasefire agreement brokered by Russia. On January 12 this year, the peace agreement was temporarily broken, and three Armenian and two Azeri soldiers were killed in the fighting.

It is overcast, cold and raw outside, as we go on to the Geghard monastery. The name means “spear” in Armenian. It is supposed to be one of the world’s oldest monasteries and according to myth, the spearhead that Longinus, the Roman soldier who pierced Jesus in the side with his lance, was taken there. The soldier, after perceiving miracles while stabbing Jesus, became one of Christ’s first followers. There are other places on earth where it is claimed that the spearhead exists. Either way, it’s a magnificent environment. Part of the monastery is carved out of the mountainside rock. About a hundred visitors brave the cold.

Five young Armenians from the USA throw pebbles towards a carved mountainside. “If a pebble gets stuck in one of the carved pits, you can wish for something,” says Kazarian, throwing up some stones expectantly. He does not succeed. Elliott and I also try and fail. A young woman in her twenties gets it right on the first try. The rest of us join in her cheers.

Although it is a fairly large crowd that wander around all parts of the monastery, they are quiet and respectful. Visitors light candles and pray for the sick and others in need of prayer. They sing hymns and they drink holy water that flows down from a spring in the mountain. Some of them also fill bottles to take home.

“Many people are convinced that this spring water can cure the sick. Taste it, it has a special freshness“, Elliott whispers to me. I drink it. He’s right.

Raffi Elliott. (Privat)

One of the least guarded areas

When we leave the monastery, we see more stalls. Here, they also sell crucifixes and icons. While we browse, Elliott, who has written at least a dozen articles about the 2020 war and who has contributed to articles in media outlets such as Reuters, says that it is important to have all the facts when writing about the situation in the Caucasus. He believes that this area of the former Soviet Union is one of the least reported on, and for which reporters often lack the knowledge to report adequately.

Kazarian drives into a small village. Khash, an Armenian speciality, is served here. He and Elliott want me to taste it while they explain the war to me. It is cold inside the small cottage where the food is cooked and served. Hot mint tea along with flat Armenian bread and several different kinds of cheese and fresh herbs are served before the main course and warms us up a bit.

“It was on September 27 that the Azerbaijani army attacked Nagorno-Karabakh, which we Armenians call Artsakh. It is an enclave within the borders of Azerbaijan with an almost entirely Armenian population. It has its own government and its own parliament. The area with its 150,000 inhabitants may at first glance seem small and insignificant “, Elliott explains, as he puts herbs and cheese in a flatbread, which he hands over to me.

Kazarian elaborates on his point.

“However, it is of great importance, both for Azerbaijan, for Artsakh’s own population and for the state of Armenia,” he says. For us Armenians, no matter where in the world we live, we remember our roots which have been tied for centuries to these lands. There are more than double the number of Armenians living abroad as in Armenia and many are attached to Artsakh in one way or another”.

The hot food arrives, meat, bone and fat in heavy broth. You can then season it yourself, with garlic, salt and spices. It’s a little too heavy for me, so I stick to the delicious homemade cheeses, bread and herbs.

Ann Linde (S) kallade folkmord på kristna för “massövergrepp”

The world’s largest genocide memorial

When we finish eating, we drive towards the capital Yerevan. Elliott leaves for an interview. Kazarian drives me to the home of Hayk Azadian Izgi, an acquaintance of mine, a relative of my relatives, from Sweden, who is in Armenia for New Year and Christmas. Izgi wants to be with me when I visit the world’s largest genocide memorial monument. He is a good friend of many Armenian writers, journalists and researchers. I jumped out of the car. We cheek kissed, hugged and sat in the car again.

“Dear Nuri, for Azerbaijan and its big brother Turkey, it is about the geopolitical situation, the proximity to natural resources such as gas. For Armenians in general, the area has historical and religious significance. Most of Artsakh and its surroundings have always been inhabited by Armenians. Towns and villages are full of historical and religious heritage. A large number of these were destroyed during the 44-day war in the fall of 2020 and continue to be destroyed as we speak”, he says, then interrupts himself as we reach Tsitsernakaberd, the genocide monument.

Both Kazarian and Izgi are visibly moved by the moment, although they have visited the place countless times. Hundreds of trees are planted and strategically placed in front of the entrance. It is the governments of many countries but also individuals who paid to have a tree in their name in memory of the victims of the Seyfo genocide, also known as the Armenian genocide.

Nuri Kino at Tsitsernakaberd. (Haik Kazarian)

Brutality that is difficult to comprehend

Many world leaders and celebrities have been here. It is a place in Armenia that all visitors feel they must-see. Over 1.5 million Christians; Armenians, Assyrians / Syriacs and Greeks were massacred during the 1915 genocide in the Ottoman Empire. I’ve spent thousands of hours researching it. In the years 1999–2000, I interviewed about fifty of the survivors. The brutality they witnessed is impossible for most of us to comprehend.

Minnesmärke över Seyfo invigt i Norrköping

The next day, I focus on the religious aspects of the 2020 war. Armenian social and traditional media take the fact that jihadists from Syria joined the Azeri army, something the Washington Post reported, as proof that it was a religious war. For the Syrian jihadists, it was a war against infidels. A large number of churches and monasteries were also destroyed during and after the war, which is also considered as proof that it was a religious war.

“...not a religious [conflict]”

I get in touch with the doctoral student and historian Simon Maghakyan. He is a visiting scholar, a lecturer in international relations at two USA-based universities, and a PhD student in heritage crime at Cranfield University in the United Kingdom. Maghakyan writes to me that it was not a religious war.

“The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict is not a religious one but Azerbaijan targets all indigenous Christian sites in disputed regions because of their intertwined association with Armenian culture. For example, in 1997-2006 Azerbaijan eradicated every medieval Christian cultural property in Nakhichevan, but preserved Armenian castles and bridges because their secular nature allowed for such structures to be much more easily appropriated. In some ways, this is an extension of the genocide of 1915, an intent to make Armenians extinct. In this process, one of the world’s oldest Christian civilizations is being erased, even though religion is not Azerbaijan’s motivation.”

Azerbajdzjan vill radera armeniska spår från kyrkor

I write to a Facebook friend’s acquaintance. She lived near the Green Church in the city of Shushi, lost to Armenians in the 2020 war. She was abroad at work when the war broke out. She would like to talk to me and says I can quote her, but anonymously.

“I lived just a stone’s throw away from the Green Church, it has great historical and religious value to us. Now it’s a cafe. It hurts, hurts very much. The holy place where we were baptized, married, and which we visited at least once a week is gone. Not only that, everything in my apartment was stolen or destroyed. Photographs of my grandparents, everything I owned that had any sentimental value are gone. With it also my city, my neighbourhood, everything I loved, my neighbours, everything. What they hate is the combination of our ethnicity and religion. This can best be described as Armenophobia.”

The Green Church, Shushi. (Privat)

English translation edited by Canadian journalist Susan Korah.

Nuri Kino

Nuri Kino är undersökande journalist, aktivist och entreprenör. Han skriver gästkrönikor på Dagens ledarsida.

 

https://www.dagen.se/dokument/2022/02/25/nuri-kino-christians-in-armenia-battle-for-their-history/

[Yervant1]

Feb 28 2022

Karabakh probing Azerbaijan's opening fire on civilians

February 28, 2022 - 13:57 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Investigative Committee of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) opened a criminal case to investigate an incident which involved Azerbaijani servicemen opening fire on three Armenian civilians.

According to the press service of the Investigative Committee, the incident occurred on February 5 near the village of Khramort. The three employees of the Future Generations Fund hid from gunfire, so that not to be killed.

After the end of the 44-day war in Artsakh, the residents of of the country being periodically subjected to shelling by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. Both civilians and servicemen have been killed.

The Azerbaijani military has also been threatening the residents of Khramort for several days now, using loudspeakers to demand that they leave their homes and surrender the settlement to Azerbaijan. According to journalist Tsovinar Barkhudaryan, a voice speaking in Armenian claims that if the villagers fail to leave the area voluntarily, the Azeris "will have to use force."

The authorities of Artsakh have said that Russian peacekeepers deployed in the region have been notified, and that negotiations have been launched.

https://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/298735/Karabakh_probing_Azerbaijans_opening_fire_on_civilians

[Yervant1]

NEWS.am

Armenia - March 6 2022

Azerbaijani side opens heavy fire this morning in Khramort community

13:25, 06.03.2022

The Azerbaijani side continues to maintain the tense situation in the positions adjacent to the Khramort community of the Askeran region of the Republic of Artsakh, Prosecutor General's Office of Artsakh reported.

"The Azerbaijani armed forces have been regularly taking provocative actions in recent days that cause tension in the positions adjacent to the Khramort community of the Askeran region of the Republic of Artsakh. The attempt to disrupt the normal life of the village, the course of agricultural works and the organization of the rural life is undertaken through possible ways.

"In addition to the information attack of psychological pressure with the threat of using military force and the dissemination of various statements over loudspeakers this morning, the Azerbaijani side once again resorted to provocation, firing intense shots in the direction of the Armenian side. Thanks to the prompt reaction of Russian peacekeeping forces the situation has stabilized," the Prosecutor General's Office said in a statement.

https://news.am/eng/news/690063.html

[Yervant1]

NEWS.am

Armenia - March 6 2022

Azerbaijanis shell village of Nor Shen in Artsakh, calling on loudspeakers to leave area

21:41, 06.03.2022

Yesterday, Azerbaijanis shelled the village of Nor Shen in Artsakh, after which they demanded the villagers to leave the area, failing which they will use force over loudspeakers. Metakse Hakobyan, a member of the Justice faction of the Artsakh National Assembly, told NEWS.am about this.

"Immediately after the incident, the villagers appealed to the head of the administration. The peacekeepers arrived very quickly and managed to resolve the situation. However, the agricultural work could not continue and was stopped. The peacekeepers promised that they would be near the villagers in the field for a month, so that they could carry out agricultural work until a solution is found," the deputy said.

https://news.am/eng/news/690028.html

[Yervant1]

March 7 2022

Armenian soldier killed, another injured in Azerbaijan's shooting

March 7, 2022 - 14:51 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - An Armenian soldier was killed in Azerbaijan's shooting from across the border on Monday, March 7 morning, the Defense Ministry reports. The serviceman was identified as Sergeant Hrach Manasaryan.

Another Armenian soldier was injured when the Azeri troops opened fire from their positions in the western section of the border. His life is out of danger, authorities said.

https://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/298886/Armenian_soldier_killed_another_injured_in_Azerbaijans_shooting

[Yervant1]

NEWS.am

Armenia - March 8 2022

Artsakh NSS checks possibility of Azerbaijani sabotage

19:55, 08.03.2022

The Nagorno-Karabakh National Security Service is investigating the reasons for the suspension of gas supplies from Armenia to Karabakh in the region of Shushi, NSS press service informed NEWS.am.

“On the night of Tuesday at around 1 am, a breakdown in a gas pipeline near Shushi completely cut off the gas supply from Armenia to Karabakh. The Azerbaijani side is hindering the implementation of repair works carried out at the site of the accident by the specialists of Artsakhgaz CJSC. The NSS is also taking measures to clarify the reasons for the interruption of gas supply, including the identification of possible sabotage or harmful activities, as well as criminal acts undertaken by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.

At the moment, NSS officers are taking measures to arrive at the scene of the incident and investigate it in accordance with the procedure established by criminal procedural legislation. After that, additional information will be provided. Including the real causes of the failure," the press service noted.

https://news.am/eng/news/690406.html

[Yervant1]

Armenpress.com

Azerbaijani military fires mortar shells at village in Artsakh in latest ceasefire breach

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10:14, 9 March, 2022

YEREVAN, MARCH 9, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani military again violated the ceasefire in Artsakh, firing three 60mm mortar shells in the direction of the Khramort village in Askeran region around 23:00 on March 8, the Artsakh Defense Army said.

The Russian peacekeeping command was notified on the ceasefire violation.

There are no victims on the Armenian side.

The tactical-strategic situation is currently calm.

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1077387.html?fbclid=IwAR2F4OvwOFhluhCcvBo-hxWJ3n-mv9bZuZ4laZVGavp6SmHkWH3xoQG71HM

[Yervant1]

March 9 2022

Nagorno-Karabakh gas pipeline damage: technical problems or Azerbaijani sabotage?

• JAMnews
  

• Yerevan
  

Nagorno-Karabakh is left without gas

The entire territory of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is deprived of gas. It is reported that since the night of March 8, at 01:00, the gas pipeline through which gas is supplied from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh has been damaged. The damaged section of the gas pipeline is located in the territory, which has returned under the control of Azerbaijan after the Karabakh war of 2020. This refers to the area from Shushi (Shusha) to Zariflu. So far, the Azerbaijani side has not allowed access to the accident site for restoration work. Meanwhile, sappers must first check and clear the territory before the restoration works can begin.

In connection with the cessation of gas supply to NK, humanitarian problems arose, difficulties with providing people with food – in particular, bread factories cannot work without gas.

Yerevan has not yet issued a statement about the accident at the gas pipeline and the situation in NK. The information comes from the State Emergency Service and the Ombudsman of Nagorno-Karabakh. Russian peacekeepers are participating in negotiations with the Azerbaijani side. At the same time, there are reports of intensive shelling by the Azerbaijani armed forces of four settlements in NK.

• “Peace treaty is a priority” – statements of Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministries
  
• Opinion from Yerevan: “The world failed to condemn aggression in Karabakh, and now Europe is in danger”


• PACE head: Armenia does not have a stance on Russian-Azerbaijani allied cooperation declaration

“Azerbaijan deliberately impedes the restoration of the gas pipeline”

According to official data, about 110,000 people live in NK. 97% of the capital is gasified and most settlements are supplied with gas.

The Ombudsman of Nagorno-Karabakh reports that the Azerbaijani side has not allowed sappers to enter the damaged section of the gas pipeline. He believes that “obstruction of the resumption of gas supply is proof of the intention of the Azerbaijani side to create problems in the humanitarian sphere, to disrupt normal life here”.

According to him, the Azerbaijani side has not allowed either the specialists of the Artsakhgaz company or the law enforcement agencies of NK to visit the site of the accident.

“In this regard, there is still no clear information whether the accident occurred due to technical problems or the gas pipeline was blown up directly by the Azerbaijanis”, Gegham Stepanyan said in an interview with Radio Azatutyun (Liberty).

He said that negotiations are underway to start repairing the gas pipeline through the mediation of the Russian peacekeeping mission, which has been stationed there since the end of the war.

According to official information from the unrecognized republic, the accident occurred on a section of the gas pipeline located not far from Azerbaijani positions.

The National Security Service of the NKR reports that they are considering a deliberate undermining, sabotage by Azerbaijan as a possible explanation for the current events.

“There is a high probability that the gas pipeline was blown up by Azerbaijan”

According to Tigran Abrahamyan, a deputy from the opposition “I have the honor” faction of the Armenian parliament, it is highly likely that the gas pipeline was blown up by the Azerbaijani side:

“Given the fact that the pipeline in this area is controlled by Azerbaijani troops, a terrorist attack could have been committed on this section by Azerbaijan”.

The deputy has come to this conclusion amid the increased shelling of peaceful settlements of NK and other “provocations by Azerbaijan”. He recalls, in particular, the situation around the village of Khramort in the Askeran region (in Azerbaijan it is called Pirlyar).

Since February 24, Azerbaijani servicemen have been playing a recording in Armenian with a call to leave the village. The text, which is heard over the loudspeakers, is as follows:

“Quickly leave the area, otherwise we will force you to. All responsibility for the sacrifices will fall on you․ Don’t endanger your life and the lives of your loved ones”.

It is reported that on March 9, these threats were made again.

In addition, throughout the day, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces fired actively, including using mortars, in the direction of the villages of Hramort and Nakhichevanik of the Askeran region, the settlements of Khnushinak and Karmir Shuka (Red Bazaar) of the Martuni region, as well as adjacent roads.

The NK Prosecutor’s Office reports that in the current situation, “all possible measures are being taken to document the criminal actions of the Azerbaijani side and their consequences”.

https://jam-news.net/nagorno-karabakh-gas-pipeline-damage-technical-problems-or-azerbaijani-sabotage/

[Yervant1]

Armenpress.com

Azerbaijan demonstratively accumulates tanks in direction of village in Artsakh – Ombudswoman

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10:50, 10 March, 2022

YEREVAN, MARCH 10, ARMENPRESS. Human Rights Defender of Armenia Kristinne Grigoryan calls the latest intensive shootings in the direction of Khramort village of Askeran region and Karmir Shuka and Khnushinak villages of Martuni region an “ongoing criminal policy by the Azerbaijani military-political leadership”.

She released a statement on social media which says:

“I am in constant contact with the Human Rights Ombudsman and the Prosecutor General of Artsakh. Yesterday, there were intensive shootings in the direction of Khramort village of Askeran region and Karmir Shuka and Khnushinak villages of Martuni region. During the day, the shootings in the direction of Khramort were accompanied by the criminal acts of exerting psychological pressure against the civilian population, by giving “warnings” in Armenian over a loudspeaker for the population to leave the village.

This criminal act against the civilian population intensified overnight in the direction of the of Khramort village, where the Azerbaijani armed forces implemented the use of mortar. One civilian is wounded. The opponent also demonstratively accumulated heavy equipment (tanks) in the direction of the village. For the purpose of the security of the civilian population, women and children were evacuated overnight to a more secure location, however, according to the information provided by my colleagues, they have returned to the village in the morning.

This is the ongoing criminal policy by the Azerbaijani military-political leadership, which is aimed at violating the life and security of people living in their homeland, terrorizing them, and causing them constant crisis. It is clearly evident that the ultimate goal of such acts is to remove the Armenian communities in Artsakh from their native Armenian population, which is a manifestation of the ongoing policy of Armenophobia and ethnic hatred.

On the other hand, the irresponsible behavior of the Azerbaijani state is aimed at damaging the reputation of the Russian peacekeeping mission and undermining the enormous efforts made to ensure the peaceful life of the civilian population.

Today, I will send the information about these incidents to the relevant international organizations and embassies”.

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1077502.html?fbclid=IwAR2P4A8N5ByQXoNMkxBFcrT0YoD6uWrRDrIa91ByzGavtVMQitIsL-hpvBw

[Yervant1]

Public Radio of Armenia

March 11 2022

Azerbaijan’s provocations incited by Turkey: Ruben Safrastyan

March 11, 2022, 17:36

Azerbaijan is intentionally aggravating the situation in the region, says Ruben Safrastyan, expert in Turkish studies.

“They are resuming the encroachment on both the territory of the Republic of Armenia and the territory of the Republic of Artsakh,” Safrastyan said in an interview with Public Radio of Armenia.

“I think these provocations are coordinated with Turkey.. I don’t believe that in the current tense situation in the world Azerbaijan would take the actions without the consent of Turkey,” he said.

“Moreover, I think that the actions are not only coordinated with Turkey, but are incited by Turkey. My overall assessment is that these provocative actions of Azerbaijan pursue a long-term objective of ensuring that the Russian peacekeepers withdraw from Artsakh ahead of time,” he said.

The expert says “Turkey is yet to reach its utmost goal of pressing Russian out of the region to become the only important actor in the region.”

 

https://en.armradio.am/2022/03/11/azerbaijans-provocations-incited-by-turkey-ruben-safrastyan/

[Yervant1]

March 15 2022

Violence sparks fear of new war among Nagorno-Karabakh residents

15 March 2022

ByAni Avetisyan

A Russian peacekeeper in Nagorno-Karabakh. Photo: Ani Avetisyan/OC Media.

As the war in Ukraine captures the world’s attention, tensions have spiked yet again in Nagorno-Karabakh, with some local residents fearing that an attack by Azerbaijan is imminent.

Over the past week, both Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of violating the ceasefire between the two countries, though few of these violations could be independently confirmed.

Some of the violence that could be confirmed included the shelling of Armenian-inhabited villages in Nagorno-Karabakh — which lead to one civilian being wounded, as well as an exchange of fire on the border between Armenia and Nakhchivan in which one Armenian soldier was killed.

The Nagorno-Karabakh Human Rights Defender has also reported about an Azerbaijani military build up on the line of contact, while unverified videos allegedly showing a large scale movement of military vehicles were disseminated through social networks.

High ranking officials in the Nagorno-Karabakh capital of Stepanakert (Khankandi) were quick to deny the allegations, stating that claims of a military build-up by Azerbaijani forces ‘do not correspond to reality’.

In several Armenian-inhabited villages near the line of contact, the Azerbaijani military has been recorded apparently broadcasting threats and calling on the Armenian population to evacuate.

Additionally, damage to a gas pipeline in territory under the control of the Azerbaijani military has left much of Nagorno-Karabakh, including Stepanakert without heating for over a week in sub-zero temperatures. The cause of the damage has not been identified, though some officials in Nagorno-Karabakh have speculated that it may have been caused by purposeful Azerbaijani sabotage.

The Azerbaijani military has thus far refused Armenian repair crews access to the damaged section of the pipeline.

[Read more: Nagorno-Karabakh left in the cold]

One of the chief fears among Armenians is that with Russia militarily tied up with its invasion of Ukraine, Azerbaijan will use the situation to seize territory in Nagorno-Karabakh by force and expel the local Armenian population.

‘Azerbaijan is trying to take advantage of the chaotic developments of the last two weeks for achieving tactical gains on the ground’, wrote political analyst Tigran Grigoryan. ‘They are part of the Aliyev regime’s comprehensive and long-term policy of ethnic expulsion in Nagorno-Karabakh.’

On Friday evening, the official Facebook page of Nagorno-Karabakh Parliament was hacked, urging the residents of the city of Askeran to leave the town within the next several days.

A Russian army lorry in Nagorno-Karabakh. Recently Russian peacekeepers on the line of contact have been broadcasting calls imploring for adherence to the ceasefire.

Yerevan, Baku, and a peace plan

Officials in Yerevan have remained relatively muted on the growing tensions. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated only that ‘there are problems’ and that ‘steps’ should be taken to resolve them.

Armenia’s new president, Vahagn Khachaturyan, stated that Azerbaijan’s ‘actions’ should not distract Armenia from ‘establishing peace’ in the region.

There have also been calls for military actions among some members of the Azerbaijani opposition. Fuad Gahramanli, the former leader of the opposition All-Azerbaijan Popular Front Party called on Azerbaijani authorities to make use of a ‘historic opportunity’ and ‘liberate Khankandi’.

On March 12, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry had sent a five-point proposal to Armenia to establish a definitive peace agreement between the countries.

The Azerbaijani proposal calls for ‘sovereignty, territorial integrity, mutual recognition of international borders’; the cessation of ‘territorial claims’ against each other; an end to threats ‘to each other’s security in international relations’; the demarcation of borders and establishment of diplomatic relations; and the opening of lines of transport and communications.

The document remains silent on the specific question of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.

In a March 14 statement, Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated it had sent a response to Azerbaijan and applied to the OSCE Minsk group for mediation, to agree upon a peace agreement that is in line with the ‘UN Charter, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Helsinki Final Act’.

Anar Mammadli, a human rights activist and head of the Center for Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies, an independent democracy watchdog in Azerbaijan, criticised the limited nature of the proposal.

‘The Azerbaijani side should prepare a wide and comprehensive roadmap on peacekeeping and present it to the public’, he wrote on Facebook, adding that such an agreement should include detailed ‘conditions of peace’ the investigation of war crimes, demining, the ‘study and protection of historical-cultural monuments’, and the guarantee of ‘the safety of Karabakh Armenians’.

 For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.

https://oc-media.org/violence-sparks-fear-of-new-war-among-nagorno-karabakh-residents/

[Yervant1]

Asbarez.com

Report on Turkey’s Deployment of Jihadists During Artsakh War Completed

by Asbarez Staff

March 18, 2022

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

Turkey deployed Syrian mercenaries to fight alongside Azerbaijani forces during 2020 Artsakh war

A group of civic organizations has compiled a detained report about the role of mercenaries—jihadists—deployed by Turkey to fight alongside Azerbaijani forces during the 2020 Artsakh War.

The report was proposed by and will be submitted to the United Nations Working Group on use of mercenaries.

According to the Open Society Foundations-Armenia, the report is based on the evidence a group of human rights activists obtained during and after the 44-day war.

“The submitted evidence proves that Syrian mercenaries were hired and transported to Azerbaijan to fight against Artsakh Armenians and took part in the hostilities for material gain, which was a violation of the international humanitarian law. The evidence is incorporated in the report entitled ‘Human rights violations during the 44-day war,’” an OSF report reads.

Both Armenian servicemen and civilians, including the elderly who were unable to leave the combat zone, were killed by the mercenaries.

The NGOs are calling on the relevant U.N. agencies to investigate the facts of hiring and using mercenaries by Azerbaijan and Turkey in Nagorno-Karabakh and in other conflicts, as well as to apply sanctions against the Turkish and Azerbaijani officials involved in hiring and deploying Syrian mercenaries. The NGOs also proposed submitting the evidence to the International Criminal Court for holding Azerbaijan and Turkey, as well as other countries, responsible for using mercenaries.

The NGOs point out a disturbing fact of the UN Working Group using Azerbaijan’s false claims in their statements. They stress that by equating the two parties this and other international agencies aggravate the atmosphere of impunity and reduce the possibility of compensations to the victims.

The report has by prepared by the Open Society Foundations-Armenia, Helsinki Citizens Assembly- Vanadzor, Protection of Rights Without Borders, Transparency International, Public Journalism Club, Analytical Centre on Globalization and Regional Cooperation and For Equal rights NGOs.

https://asbarez.com/report-on-turkeys-deployment-of-jihadists-during-artsakh-war-completed/?fbclid=IwAR15LwUPysz3O36Mf09VN4iaTemtz_kSDnnh-iMkBYnjphU3m503CgUdc4o

[Yervant1]

March 24 2022

Armenian PM: “Baku’s actions prove Azerbaijan is responsible for blowing up gas pipe in Karabakh”

• JAMnews
  

• Yerevan
  

Pashinyan’s statement about the gas pipeline explosion

By its actions, Azerbaijan proves that “it is responsible for blowing up gas pipeline” through which gas is supplied from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh. This was stated by the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. Until now, he had refrained from assessing the situation in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, but now the prime minister stressed that the population is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe:

“As you know, on March 7, a gas pipeline leading to Artsakh was blown up in the territory controlled by Azerbaijan. Under various pretexts, Azerbaijan did not allow the repair of the gas pipeline, and as a result, it repaired it itself. As a result, according to our information, a valve was installed on the gas pipeline. On March 18, the gas supply to Artsakh was resumed, and 4 days after that, Azerbaijan simply turned off the valve – without any explosions, thereby proving that it was responsible for the explosion”.

In connection with this critical situation, the Armenian prime minister spoke about the latest actions of Azerbaijan, “provocations, an attempt to pursue a policy of escalation and start a new war, to complete the policy of ethnic cleansing in Artsakh”. At the same time, he stressed that in spite of everything, his government will continue the agenda of establishing peace in the region.

• What’s behind new gas outages in Karabakh: technical shutdown or sabotage?
  
• Nagorno-Karabakh gas pipeline damage: technical problems or Azerbaijani sabotage?


• Baku, Yerevan react to celebration of 30th anniversary of Azerbaijan’s UN accession in Shusha

“Deliberate actions of Azerbaijan in amid cold weather”

The Prime Minister of Armenia stressed that the gas supply was cut off during the days when the cold weather came to NK:

“On March 7, an unprecedented amount of snow fell in Artsakh over the past thirty years, the air temperature dropped to an unprecedented level. On March 21, the record for low temperature and the amount of snow was broken, the snow layer in some places reached one and a half meters, in the capital Stepanakert it was at around 1 meter, the air temperature dropped to -8 degrees. And under these conditions, Artsakh was deliberately deprived of the supply of natural gas, which is vital for heating apartments, kindergartens, schools and hospitals.”

Pashinyan said he has no doubt that “the people of Artsakh will overcome this test too”:

“But realizing this, I must admit that Azerbaijan has served the people of Artsakh with its actions, because this episode with the gas pipeline for the international community will become a very accurate and concise description of the Artsakh problem. Thanks to this episode, the international community will be able to understand the essence of the Karabakh issue without flipping through hundreds of pages and without studying the nuances of history.

This undeniably testifies to the policy of Azerbaijan towards the Armenians of Artsakh. This policy makes it impossible for them to live in their own homeland. For almost a year and a half, Azerbaijan has been beating drums about its glorious victory in the 44-day war of 2020, but the fact that after so much suffering and deprivation, about 117,000 Armenians live in Artsakh today, Azerbaijan considers its biggest defeat. And it has set the task of doing everything to complete its policy of ethnic cleansing in Artsakh”.

The Armenian Prime Minister considered the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan circulated the day before “symbolic and eloquent”. The statement noted that the issue of gas supplies to NK is an internal affair of Azerbaijan:

“If this statement is translated from the diplomatic language, it will mean the following: the international community, closes a blind eye to this issue and allows us to freely, imperceptibly for the international community, through “anti-terrorist operations”, complete the policy of liberating Artsakh from Armenians through ethnic cleansing and genocide policy.

The diplomatic service of Armenia, officials, political forces, media, non-governmental organizations and social media users should present to the international community in detail and widely what is happening in Artsakh over the past 15 days”.

On March 22, the Armenian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that the gas supply to NK was interrupted “with the clear intervention of the Azerbaijani side”, which led to a humanitarian crisis:

“The current situation necessitates a clear response from the international community in order to prevent a humanitarian crisis, as well as the immediate and unhindered involvement of international humanitarian organizations in Nagorno-Karabakh”.

International human rights organizations Freedom House and Human rights watch condemned the cutoff in gas supply to NK. They stressed that urgent action must be taken to avoid a further humanitarian crisis. The European Union expressed concern about this, calling for “immediately resuming gas supply to the affected local population, especially given the bad weather conditions”.

According to the Prime Minister of Armenia, Baku’s goal is to divert Armenia from the “peace agenda” with its steps. However, Azerbaijani government does not intend to abandon its goal of establishing stability in the region and “starting an era of peace”. According to Pashinyan, this policy has no alternative, Armenia “should not succumb to such provocations of Azerbaijan”:

“I said earlier that we need strong nerves to implement the peace agenda, and in no case should we deviate from the strategy we have declared”.

“Azerbaijan is not inclined to establish peace”

The escalation of relations with Azerbaijan is perceived by local experts as an attempt to put pressure on Armenia and speed up the signing of a peace treaty. However, the Prime Minister doubts that the Azerbaijani side is actually ready for this. In this regard, Pashinyan recalled the chronology of recent events:

• On March 10, after the accident on the gas pipeline, the proposals of 5 points on the normalization of relations from the Azerbaijani side were submitted to Armenia.
  
• On March 14, the Armenian side responded to these proposals and appealed to the co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group with a request to assist in organizing peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan.


• On March 21, the Armenian Foreign Minister announced that there was nothing unacceptable in the proposals submitted by Azerbaijan, but they did not address all issues on the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace agenda.

“In our response to the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, we have added to our agenda and are ready to start peace talks on this basis. However, on the evening of the same day [March 10], when this position was published, Azerbaijan blocked the gas pipeline. Note that Armenia declares that the proposals of Azerbaijan are acceptable to Armenia, and Azerbaijan blocks the gas pipeline”.

According to Nikol Pashinyan, this proves that Azerbaijan is not inclined to establish peace.

https://jam-news.net/armenian-pm-bakus-actions-prove-azerbaijan-is-responsible-for-blowing-up-gas-pipe-in-karabakh/

[MosJan]

[MosJan]

[Yervant1]

March 25 2022

Two killed as Azerbaijan reportedly takes Nagorno-Karabakh village

25 March 2022

ByAni Avetisyan

An Armenian-inhabited village in Nagorno-Karabakh has reportedly been taken over by Azerbaijani troops. Authorities in Stepanakert (Khankandi) report that two Armenian soldiers were killed and that Azerbaijani drones were deployed in nearby clashes.

Azerbaijani troops reportedly crossed the line of contact separating Armenian and Azerbaijani forces on the evening of 24 March and took control of the village of Parukh (Farukh). Local residents have been evacuated.

According to Tigran Grigoryan, an independent journalist from Nagorno-Karabakh, after recent tensions near Parukh, Russian peacekeepers negotiated an agreement according to which both sides would withdraw troops from Parukh and would be replaced by a contingent of Russian peacekeepers.

Upon the withdrawal of Armenian troops, Grigoryan said that Azerbaijani forces ‘captured the village without any actual resistance from the Russian side’.

OC Media has not been able to independently verify the account.

Additionally, the Nagorno-Karabakh Defence Army has reported clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces near the village in the early hours of 25 March. Officials in Stepanakert have accused Azerbaijan of using armed drones during the fighting.

As of publication, five Armenian soldiers were reportedly wounded, and two killed. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence has not released any information about possible injuries or fatalities among Azerbaijani military personnel.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry denounced Azerbaijan’s reported incursion as a violation of the tripartite peace declaration that brought an end to the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.

Azerbaijan’s actions, they wrote, in combination with recent shelling of villages in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the disruption of gas supplies to the Armenian population in the region, amounted to an attempt at ‘ethnic cleansing’ that ‘seriously endanger regional stability and peace’.

[Read more: In deep freeze, Nagorno-Karabakh finds itself without gas again]

In turn, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry released its own statement, in which they referred to events on the line of contact as a ‘clarification’ of the ‘positions and locations in the region’.

‘There is no reason for any hysteria’, the statement reads, further accusing Armenia of engaging in ‘disinformation’ by ‘artificially exaggerating the issue’. The ongoing disruption of gas supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh, they wrote, were a result of ‘technical problems’ due to ‘severe weather conditions’.

Some in Azerbaijan have also explicitly called for escalation. Elman Mammadov, an MP from the ruling New Azerbaijan Party called for ‘the separatists and terrorists living [in Nagorno-Karabakh], and the [Nagorno-Karabakh] military’ to be ‘cleansed’.

‘The Armenians living in those areas before 1988 and their descendants must adopt the laws of Azerbaijan. Otherwise, Armenians who are not our citizens cannot live in our territories’, he said.

As of yet, Russia’s peacekeeping mission have also not released a statement.

[Read more: Violence sparks fear of new war among Nagorno-Karabakh residents]

There was a swift, if characteristically diplomatic, comment from the US State Department on recent events, who published a tweet expressing concern about ‘gas disruptions and Azerbaijan’s troop movements’ and calling for an immediate de-escalation.

The U.S. is deeply concerned about gas disruptions and Azerbaijan’s troop movements. Armenia and Azerbaijan need to use direct communications channels to immediately deescalate

— DoS Europe and Eurasia (@StateEUR) March 24, 2022

Armenia’s Defence Minister Suren Papikyan also announced that he spoke with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoygu, who ‘assured’ him that Russia was following the ‘situation’.

 For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.

https://oc-media.org/two-killed-as-azerbaijan-reportedly-takes-nagorno-karabakh-village/

[Yervant1]

March 25 2022

Armenia claims Azerbaijani forces captured strategic point in Karabakh

• JAMnews

• Baku-Yerevan

Escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh

The Armenian Foreign Ministry reports that the “Azerbaijani invasion, which began on March 24 in the zone of responsibility of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation, near the village of Parukh, Askeran region [according to the administrative division of Azerbaijan – the village of Farukh, Khojaly region — JAMnews] continues”. The statement says that units of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces were firing at Armenian positions at night. It is reported the unrecognized NKR reports that five servicemen were wounded as a result of the shelling.

Azerbaijan refutes the reports of the Armenian side about military clashes in the zone of deployment of peacekeepers, calling them “provocative”.

• Opinion from Yerevan: “Direct Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue is unlikely”
• Baku, Yerevan react to celebration of 30th anniversary of Azerbaijan’s UN accession in Shusha
• What’s behind new gas outages in Karabakh: technical shutdown or sabotage?
• Enclaves – islands of Armenian-Azerbaijani confrontation

Reports from Yerevan

By the time the article was published, NK reported that the units of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces “continue gross violations of the ceasefire, in addition to firearms, they also use attack drones, including the Bayraktar TB-2 type”. As a result, two Armenian servicemen were killed.

“As of 14:00, the operational-tactical situation on the eastern border of Artsakh continues to be extremely tense”, Nagorno-Karabakh reports.

Chronology of events

On March 24, a message was received from the Information Headquarters of Nagorno-Karabakh that “at 16:00, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces violated the line of contact in the direction of the village of Parukh, Askeran region”.

It was reported that, with the mediation of the Russian peacekeeping forces, negotiations are underway “in order to stop the further advance of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and their return to their original positions”. For security reasons, women and children were evacuated from the village of Khramort (in Azerbaijan, this village is called Pirlyar).

Then the same Information Headquarters transmitted:

“The situation in the direction of the settlements of Parukh-Khramort of the Askeran region is under the control of the Russian peacekeeping forces stationed in the Republic of Artsakh. As a result of negotiations and additional security measures, the movement of the Azerbaijani armed forces across our territory has now been suspended, but the enemy has not yet returned to their original positions”.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry also issued a statement in connection with the aggravation of the situation in NK:

“The aggressive actions of Azerbaijan once again prove that official Baku continues to flagrantly violate the tripartite statement of November 9, 2020, as a result of which hostilities were ceased, the parties stopped at their positions and peacekeeping troops of the Russian Federation were deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh – along the line of contact.

These actions were preceded by the complete blocking of the operation of the only gas pipeline supplying Artsakh by Azerbaijan, the shelling of civilian infrastructure with large-caliber weapons, threats to the Armenians of Artsakh and other steps aimed at ethnic cleansing. Moreover, along with a sharp aggravation of the security situation in Europe, such actions by Baku seriously threaten regional stability and peace”.

Armenian PM: “Baku’s actions prove Azerbaijan is responsible for blowing up gas pipe in Karabakh”

“By its actions and statements, Azerbaijan proves that it is reponsible for blowing up pipeline in Karabakh” – Pashinyan’s statement about the alleged gas pipeline explosion

Both March 24 and 25 messages of the Armenian Foreign Ministry contain an appeal to the Russian side, which is carrying out a peacekeeping mission in this zone:

“We expect the Russian peacekeeping forces to take measures to ensure the immediate withdrawal of the Azerbaijani armed forces from the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, which will mean the return of the Azerbaijani troops to their original positions as of March 23”.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry also appeals to the international community to “give a clear assessment of Azerbaijan’s provocative actions aimed at disrupting the peace process, support efforts to establish peace in the South Caucasus and achieve a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict”.

On March 24, the Armenian Foreign Minister held telephone conversation with US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried. Ararat Mirzoyan presented the situation. He stated that Azerbaijan grossly violates the obligations enshrined in the tripartite statements on the cessation of hostilities and endangers regional stability and peace.

He assessed Azerbaijan’s actions as deliberate pressure on the civilian population. In particular, they talked about the fact that Azerbaijan, among other things, stopped the transfer of gas from Armenia to NK, thus creating a humanitarian crisis. According to the minister, Azerbaijan’s actions “are a clear manifestation of the policy of ethnic cleansing and the anti-Armenian policy of Azerbaijan”. Ararat Mirzoyan stressed that he expects a targeted and clear response on these issues from the international community, including the United States.

Azerbaijan's new military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh? Analysis from Armenia

In recent weeks, tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh have increased significantly. Armenian experts discuss what the ongoing escalation could mean for the country

Statements of the Ombudsmen of Armenia and NK

Armenian Human Rights Defender Kristine Grigoryan described Azerbaijan’s actions as “violating all universally recognized norms of international law.” She recalled the “pressure, intimidation of the population of Artsakh, the creation of unbearable conditions for a normal life” that has been going on for months.

“This invasion is another proof that the shelling of the civilian population of Khramort and other villages for several weeks did not give the desired result, people did not leave their homeland, so Azerbaijan applied its usual line of behavior and resorted to another provocation.”

The Ombudsman considers Azerbaijan’s actions as a “policy of ethnic cleansing.” And Kristine Grigoryan referred to the position of the international community as “an awkward silence”, which is not accompanied by any actions. While “people in Artsakh have the same rights as in other parts of the world.”

NK Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan also expressed his surprise at the lack of reposes from the international community in his statement. At the same time, he stated that “Azerbaijan is teaching the world a public “master class” on the destruction, deportation and deprivation of the motherland of a specific ethnic group”:

“Dear representatives of the international community, there are more than enough facts and evidence to apply the norms of “protection and responsibility” to prevent and stop genocide, crimes against humanity, mass crimes, recognize the Republic of Artsakh and save the Armenians of Artsakh from ethnic cleansing and genocide. There is simply no other option. It is finally time to understand that a criminal should be punished, not negotiated with.

Commentary from Yerevan

Political scientist Tigran Grigoryan believes that Azerbaijan is pursuing both tactical and strategic goals, trying to use the “convenient situation” to achieve these goals:

“Obviously, Azerbaijan is trying to establish control over at least the villages of Khramort and Parukh, as well as over the strategically important hill of Karaglukh. The longer-term strategic goal is the complete expulsion of Armenians from Artsakh”.

For this, according to the political scientist, people are intimidated, artificial inconvenience is created so that the Armenian population voluntarily leaves their homes.

Tigran Grigoryan also speaks about the inefficiency of the activities of Russian peacekeepers, and he regards this as a serious problem:

“If Russian peacekeepers take on the responsibility of securing a certain area, as a result of which it comes under the control of Azerbaijan, this is simply unacceptable”.

Opinion: Armenia is stuck between the West and Russia

Armenia is balancing between Russia and the West and the Ukrainian crisis has further exacerbated this situation. Experts from Armenia discuss the country’s prospects and possible strategies for development

Reports from Baku

“The provocative statements spread by the Armenian side about alleged clashes with the use of UAVs in the territory of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent is temporarily stationed, and the deaths of our military personnel are false”, the press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said.

“We declare that the units of the Azerbaijani army continue the process of clarifying the locations of positions and deployment points without the use of force. Our units are in full control of the operational situation”, the Defense Ministry said.

Armenia claims Azerbaijani forces captured strategic point in Karabakh

Escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh, as the Armenian Foreign Ministry reports that “Azerbaijani invasion in the zone of reponsibility of Russian peacekeepers continues”. Baku refutes Armenia’s reports

Foreign Ministry statement

In connection with the situation in the part of Karabakh where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily stationed, and commenting on the statement of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan issued a statement.

“The statement of the Armenian Foreign Ministry on March 24, which contains accusations against Azerbaijan in connection with the alleged escalation of the situation in the region, is another attempt to mislead the international community”, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“According to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, the positions and locations in the region are being clarified, there is no reason for any hysteria. The Armenian side is engaged in disinformation by artificially exaggerating the issue.

As for the technical problems in the gas pipelines in the region due to severe weather conditions for several days, Armenia intends to use the situation as a tool for political manipulation.

We would like to remind you that Armenia, which for many years kept the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic with a population of more than 400,000 people in a gas blockade, carried out water terror using the Sarsang reservoir for about 30 years, denied the existence of landmine maps that put an end to the life and health of hundreds of people for a long time, concealed information about the fate of about 4,000 Azerbaijanis who went missing in the early 1990s, and now makes baseless accusations against Azerbaijan – this is nothing but the political hypocrisy of this country.

At present, the only way to ensure peace and stability in the region is the full implementation of the provisions of the joint statements, including the complete withdrawal of the remnants of Armenian illegal formations from the region and the normalization of relations on the basis of the principles of international law.

 

Now is the time to do real work, not political manipulation”, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Gas pipeline from Armenia to Khankendi is illegal” – comment from Baku

The issue of providing natural gas to the part of Karabakh, where Russian peacekeepers are stationed, has recently become more acute and must be neogitated between Baku and Yerevan, an expert believes

Commentary from Baku

Azerbaijani military observer Adalat Verdiyev commented on what is happening in Karabakh.

“The Armenian side, demanding the status, gas and electricity in Karabakh in its additions to the 5-point proposals of Azerbaijan, received a response in the village of Farrukh and nearby heights. The village is under the control of the Azerbaijani army. From the height of Dashbashi (Karaglukh) a panorama of Khanabad, Askeran and Khojaly opens. There is no news on the Lachin corridor,” he wrote about the latest developments in this region.

Verdiev also commented on the reaction of some international organizations to the communal problems of the residents of the part of Karabakh, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent is temporarily stationed.

“Along with Armenia, reproaches against Azerbaijan are heard from some international organizations. The main idea of these reproaches is that the Armenians in Karabakh are freezing, the weather is bad there, Baku should restore the gas supply.

I have a few questions for the authors of these accusations:

1. Where were you when for many years 1 million Azerbaijani refugees were freezing in bad weather in railway cars and tents?
2. Where were you when Armenia was building this illegal pipe through the territories of the Lachin region and the city of Shusha occupied by it?
3. Where were you when Armenia cut off the water from the Sarsang reservoir built by Azerbaijan every summer and opened it every winter, leaving the houses of local residents under water?
4. Where were you when for 30 years Armenia did not allow Azerbaijan to supply gas to Nakhichevan?
5. Why were you silent when Armenia has been refusing to fulfill its obligations as the losing side for 16 months?
6. Where were you during the period from the Khojaly genocide to the Ganja genocide?
7. Where were you when Armenia did not want to return the whole of Karabakh and several regions around it, occupied by it, one village of Nakhichevan, 7 villages of the Gazakh region?

The list can go on, but I think these questions will suffice. If someone does not see all the consequences of separatism for the world and is hypocritical about everything that happened in Zangezur, Karabakh and Ukraine, then they have nothing human in them”, the military observer noted.

https://jam-news.net/armenia-claims-azerbaijani-forces-captured-strategic-point-in-karabakh/

[Yervant1]

March 25 2022

Azerbiajan Makes Military Incursion Into Russian-Controlled Territory In Nagorno-Karabakh After Russian Peacekeepers Leave For Ukraine

by Tsarizm StaffMarch 25, 2022

Azerbaijani Armed Forces went on the offensive in Karabakh, taking advantage of the departure of a Russian soldiers to Ukraine, – reported UA Insider in Ukraine, Azerbaijan decided to take this step, since the Russian military “peacekeepers” (who entered the disputed territories in 2020) went to war in Ukraine. It is reported that in the neighboring village of Pirlyar (Khramort), Armenian separatists are gathering for defense.

The Armenian Defense Ministry said in a statement on December 9 that two of its soldiers were wounded after Azerbaijani armed forces “opened intensive fire from firearms of different calibers” at Armenian military positions in the Gegharkunik region, reported RFERL.

https://tsarizm.com/news/central-asia/2022/03/25/azerbiajan-makes-military-incursion-into-russian-controlled-territory-in-nagorno-karabakh-after-russian-peacekeepers-leave-for-ukraine/

[Yervant1]

Public Radio of Armenia

March 25 2022

Artsakh MoD names three soldiers killed in Azerbaijani drone attack

March 25, 2022, 21:57

Less than a minute

On March 25, Davit Robert Mirzoyan (born in 1978), Ishkhan Serzhik Ohanyan (born in 1994) and Ararat Tevosyan (born in 1990) were killed as a result of provocations by the Azerbaijani forces in the eastern border of Artsakh, in particular, the use of Bayraktar TB-2 attack drones.

The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Artsakh shares the grief of the loss, expresses its support to the relatives and friends of the killed servicemen.

 

https://en.armradio.am/2022/03/25/artsakh-mod-names-three-soldiers-killed-in-azerbaijani-drone-attack/