EPAStreet view of Stepanakert
NOS Nieuws•gisteren, 22:41
At least 200 people have been killed and more than 400 injured in the fighting in Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. This is what an Armenian human rights official says. Azerbaijani President Aliyev declared victory in a TV speech.
He said his country’s sovereignty had been restored after a “successful anti-terror operation”. According to him, “illegal Armenian units” are withdrawing and handing over their weapons.
The president said he has nothing against the enclave’s ethnic Armenian population, only their “criminal separatist leaders.” He promised to make Nagorno-Karabakh a “paradise”. Residents of the predominantly Christian area will be allowed to continue to practice their own religion and will be given the right to vote in Azerbaijan, Alijev said.
Azerbaijan has been carrying out attacks on the enclave, where around 120,000 Armenians live, since yesterday morning. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but Armenians inhabit and administer the area.
Eastern Europe expert Bob Deen:
“This is not a ceasefire, but a capitulation. Azerbaijan will take full control of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia is capitulating because the country is no longer able to fight Azerbaijan militarily. Especially not if it really becomes an interstate war .
The Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh are now very concerned about their safety, because it is difficult for them to leave. In addition, the question is how they can continue to live in Azerbaijan.
Russia has maintained this conflict for a long time, it was in their interest. It was a means for them to maintain control over Armenia and Azerbaijan. But relations between Russia and Armenia have now deteriorated enormously, because Armenia is seeking rapprochement with the West. There is a lot of anti-Russian sentiment in that country at the moment.
The Caucasus seems far away, but it is more important to us than we realize. It is an important route from Asia to Europe. Azerbaijan also has gas that the EU wants to claim.”
NOSDe enclave Nagorno-Karabach
Talks are scheduled for tomorrow on the rights and security of the residents of the Yevlax area of Azerbaijan. Representatives of the local Armenian population and representatives of the Azerbaijani authorities will be present.
Russian peacekeeping troops will mediate, the Kremlin announced after a telephone conversation between Russian President Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Russia has a peacekeeping force in the area, but has its hands full with the war in Ukraine.
Thousands of demonstrators stood outside Pashinyan’s office in the Armenian capital Yerevan tonight to protest against his policies. They believe that the prime minister is abandoning the Armenians in the area and are demanding his departure.
Later in the evening the atmosphere became grim. Protesters threw bottles and stones at police and a number of people were arrested.
Yesterday, demonstrators in Yerevan also clashed with the police:
Protest in Armenia against the Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh
Correspondent Iris de Graaf has been in the area in recent days and explains in the video below how the situation arose:
Why this roadblock leads to hunger and the threat of war
2023-09-20 20:41:25
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