ASerbia said it had launched an “anti-terrorist operation” in the Nagorno-Karabakh region on Tuesday. The Ministry of Defense in Baku said the operation was directed against Armenian forces. Türkiye and Russia were informed about this action. An AFP reporter said the explosions were heard in Stepanakert, the capital of a region that has been disputed between the two countries for decades.
According to Azerbaijani data, six people were previously killed as a result of mine explosions. Azerbaijani security forces said two civilians were killed when a mine planted by Armenian “sabotage groups” exploded on a road towards the town of Shusha in the Azerbaijani-controlled part of Nagorno-Karabakh. Four police officers were later killed in another mine explosion on the way to the blast site.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have been fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh since the collapse of the Soviet Union and have already fought two wars over the region. According to international law, Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan, but this territory is populated predominantly by Armenians. After six weeks of fighting in 2020 that killed more than 6,500 people, Russia negotiated a ceasefire that forced Armenia to give up large areas.
Since then, deadly clashes have occurred repeatedly on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Tensions over the heavily mined Nagorno-Karabakh region have risen again in recent months.
Coming soon to FAZ.NET
Source: Frantfurter Allgemeine
