Status: 09/13/2022 02:28 am
Azerbaijan and Armenia have been enemies for decades, and their conflict was mostly over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. But now they’re firing again, and the targets are all on Armenian territory.
In the shadow of the Ukraine war, heavy fighting has broken out again between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the Caucasus. According to his government, the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan telephoned the President of the protecting power Russia, Vladimir Putin, during the night.
Pashinyan spoke of an Azerbaijani attack to which there must be an international reaction. He and Putin therefore agreed to stay in touch. The Armenian head of government also alarmed French President Emmanuel Macron, media in Yerevan reported.
Mutual finger pointing
The Armenian Defense Ministry said that Azerbaijani troops attacked Armenian positions in three places with artillery and large-caliber weapons. There are dead and wounded.
In Baku, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said that a large-scale attempt at sabotage by Armenians had triggered the fighting. “The entire responsibility for the situation lies with the military-political leadership of Armenia,” it said.
Attacks not in Nagorno-Karabakh this time
The former Soviet republics have been at war with each other over the Nagorno-Karabakh region for decades. However, according to Armenian information, the exclave was not attacked this time, the attacks hit positions near the cities of Goris, Sotk and Dschermuk. These are on the territory of Armenia.
Disputed Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan but is inhabited by Armenians. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenian forces secured control of the area in a war from 1992 to 1994 and occupied large parts of Azerbaijan. In 2020, Azerbaijan regained its territories and seized strategically important points in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Foreign Office warns
Russia, the protecting power of the Christian Armenians, is monitoring the ceasefire agreed four months later. Since then, the European Union has also made many efforts to resolve the conflict. The Foreign Office warned Germans in the region to be cautious, and that the fighting could not be ruled out.
Anyone in an area affected by hostilities should go to a safe place and wait there until it is safe to leave. It is Jermuk that is popular with foreign tourists, as there is a well-known mineral spa there.