UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged an “immediate end to the fighting” in Nagorno-Karabakh, where Azerbaijan launched a new offensive on Tuesday that has already left 29 dead, sparking concern from the international community .
Three years after a war which resulted in a military rout of Armenia, the resumption of the conflict took place on Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, with France calling for an “emergency” meeting of the Council of security to take note of an “illegal” and “unjustifiable” offensive led by Baku in Nagorno Karabakh.
This meeting could take place “in the coming days”, two diplomatic sources told AFP, speaking on Thursday.
The UN chief called “in the strongest terms, for an immediate end to the fighting, de-escalation and stricter respect for the 2020 ceasefire and the principles of international humanitarian law,” according to a press release published Tuesday evening by its spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.
Russia also urged Wednesday morning to “immediately cease the bloodshed, end hostilities and stop civilian casualties,” in a statement from its Foreign Ministry.
The Azerbaijani presidency on Tuesday evening called on the troops of Nagorno Karabakh – a breakaway territory in Azerbaijan mainly populated by Armenians – to lay down their arms, a sine qua non condition for the start of negotiations.
“The illegal Armenian armed forces must raise the white flag, surrender all weapons and the illegal regime must dissolve. Otherwise, anti-terrorist operations will continue to the end,” she said.
The presidency proposed, in the event of capitulation, talks “with representatives of the Armenian population of Karabakh in Yevlakh,” an Azerbaijani town 295 km west of Baku.
Previously, the authorities in this region had called for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations.
Since Tuesday, fighting has left at least 29 dead. Separatists reported 27 deaths, including two civilians, and more than 200 wounded, while around 7,000 residents of 16 localities were evacuated.
Azerbaijan reported that two civilians had died in areas under its control. In the town of Choucha, a construction worker died from shrapnel, and another civilian died in Agdam district.
Separatists claim that several towns in Nagorno Karabakh, including its capital Stepanakert, are targeted by “intensive shooting”, which also targets civilian infrastructure.
The clashes take place “along the entire line of contact” in this territory and the Azerbaijanis say they have used “artillery”, rockets, attack drones and planes.
Sixty Armenian positions were conquered there, Baku announced.
As for Armenia, which denounced a “large-scale aggression” for the purposes of “ethnic cleansing”, it assured that it had no troops in Nagorno Karabakh, suggesting that the separatists were alone against the Azerbaijani soldiers.
Armenia considers that it is up to Russia, guarantor of a ceasefire dating from 2020 with peace forces on the ground, to act to “stop Azerbaijani aggression”.
The 2020 conflict resulted in a military rout of Armenia which had to cede ground to Azerbaijan in and around Nagorno Karabakh.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced Tuesday morning the launch of “anti-terrorist operations” after the death of six Azerbaijanis in a mine explosion on the site of a tunnel under construction between Shusha and Fizuli, two towns in Nagorno Karabakh under control of Azerbaijan.
It was a group of separatist “saboteurs” who planted these explosive devices, according to its security services.
“The failure of the international community to act is at the origin of the Azerbaijani offensive,” denounced the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh.
Tensions have been growing for months around this territory which has already been at the heart of two wars between Yerevan and Baku. The first lasted from 1988 to 1994, the fall of 2020 ended after six weeks.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian accused the Azerbaijanis of wanting to “drag Armenia into hostilities”.
Mr. Pashinian, whom the opposition accuses of having been responsible for the defeat three years ago, denounced calls for a “coup d’état” in his country, where clashes took place between demonstrators calling him as a “traitor” and demanding his resignation.
Russia said it was “concerned” by the “brutal escalation” of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, and announced that it was trying to bring Yerevan and Baku back “to the negotiating table” to “avoid human losses”. by the voice of the spokesperson for the presidency, Dmitri Peskov.
As for Turkey, which described as “legitimate” the concerns that led the Azerbaijanis to embark on military action, it also urged the “continuation of the negotiation process between Azerbaijan and Armenia”.
Nikol Pashinian, who did not report discussions with Vladimir Putin, had two telephone conversations with MM. Macron and Blinken.
20/09/2023 06:52:14 – Baku (AFP) © 2023 AFP
