By Alix Bodden
Let's travel in time nearly 30 years ago when the Nagorno-Karabakh War ended in 1994. The
two neighbouring Caucasus nations, Armenia and Azerbaijan have been in constant conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), a region in Azerbaijan that has been under Armenian control since the war concluded. The war was brutal resulting in over 30,000 deaths, so the nations agreed to a ceasefire. However, Azerbaijan has frequently oscillated this ceasefire with the goal of regaining control of Nagorno-Karabakh. International attempts to settle this long-lived conflict have long been at a standstill and clashes between the nations are persistent.
On July 12, Azerbaijan began to launch military attacks against Armenia. Armenia’s civilians
and military have been the targets of Azerbaijan's tanks, artillery, and drones. At Azerbaijan’s
capital city of Baku, protestors demanded to start a full blown war with Armenia. Before the
hostilities began, Azerbaijan refused to sign the UN’s COVID -19 Global Ceasefire Appeal,
which Armenia was in full support of. This appeal would have postponed the nations’ ongoing conflicts in the midst of the global pandemic. On the other hand, Azerbaijan had other plans to continue their battles with Armenia
On July 12th and 13th, Azerbaijan began ambushing Tavush, Armenia’s north province. Target areas on both sides of the fighting are heavily populated with civilians. Each nation is concerned over their own health and safety. One target was the Tavush Textile, which is a factory that produces face coverings for the pandemic. Others include schools and villages in this province. Unfortunately, this is not the first time Azerbaijan has attacked Armenia’s Tavush region. In March, a child and two Armenian soldiers were injured due to an Azerbaijan fire in the Tavush village of Voskevan. In May, civilians in the Berkaber village were the target of large caliber weapons. The brief pause of the nations’ ongoing hostilities did not last long, once again the violence has resumed. Civilians are in grave danger and the damage imposed on homes is immense.
Less than a week before the violence began, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called the
efforts of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group and its U.S., France, and Russia Co-Chairs to mediate the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict ”pointless”. They threatened to settle the issue by military means.
Additionally, the attacks occurred less than two months after Azerbaijan‘s Armed Forces held
large-scale military exercises at the closing of May. The Armenian Defense Ministry criticised
the exercises, stating that they,“exacerbate the security environment in the region, under the conditions of a global imperative for joint actions against the COVID-19 pandemic and despite the call for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to establish a global ceasefire.”
Azerbaijan and Armenia have continued to resolve their conflict by military means despite their inabilities to contain the Coronavirus. Armenia has recorded almost 39,000 cases.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan has faced over 31,000 cases and has also been affected by falling oil prices which are damaging its economy. Still, the violence between the nations is escalating rapidly even in the midst of this vulnerable time for both sides.
Nations around the world continue to condemn Azerbaijan‘s actions of provoking this return to violence with Armenia, their disinterest in the ceasefire, loss of faith in international efforts to peacefully resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and truce among nations during the Covid-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, Turkey remains a strong comrade to Azerbaijan.
Turkey and Azerbaijan have long held close cultural and ethnic ties. Turkey has affirmed their
unconditional support to Baku where Azerbaijani protestors have been heard shouting, “End the quarantine, start the war. Order us to (go to) war. Allahu Akbar.”
Turkey‘s Foreign Minister has declared that,“the Republic of Turkey and the Turkish people are with Azerbaijan with all our capabilities.”
Armenia believes that Azerbaijan’s recent path to violence as a solution is solely another one of the country’s undertakings to begin a war with Armenia, which is not far off as many
Azerbaijani have urged their government to launch another war. Azerbaijan has used both
military forces to provoke conflict and has launched cyberattacks on Armenian government
websites. Armenia has no choice but to defend their country by military means despite its desire to resolve this conflict peacefully once and for all. Immense fighting at the nations’ shared border has gone on for weeks now. Other nations including Russia, Georgia, and the US have voiced their concerns about the escalating outbreaks.
Azerbaijan's unprecedented actions have caused several deaths on both sides of combat. The violence at the shared border is increasing quickly. So far the civilian casualties have been minimal, but more are expected. Both Azerbaijani and Armenian civilians are facing huge damage to their homes and villages. The resentment and violence seem to be spreading as clashes between the people of each nation have occurred in Moscow, Russia.
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry spokesman Vagif Dargyakhly threatened that the Azerbaijani
troops could easily strike Armenia’s Metsamor nuclear power plant if Armenia launched an
attack on a water reservoir in Azerbaijan. An attack on Metsamor which is located near
Armenia’s capital Yerevan would be an enormous tragedy to Armenia.
Armenia’s Foreign Ministry decries this threat as “genocidal.”
Alongside several other nations, the US has condemned the abrupt clash between Armenia and Azerbaijan and urges that the escalating violence at their shared border halt immediately. The US seems to stand on the belief that Azerbaijan has disrupted the peace among nations at this time and that they should adhere to the ceasefire. Several political figures around the country are pleading that the US refrain from providing Azerbaijan with any military or financial assistance.
Adversely, the Congressional Armenian Caucus reflected their concern in a letter written to the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper about the “$100 million allocation in U.S. security to Azerbaijan.” They noted that this, “aid appears to have allowed Azerbaijan to shift resources toward offensive capabilities and
further threaten Armenian lives and regional stability." This reckless spark of violence between Azerbaijan and Armenia for weeks has been suppressed
behind the Coronavirus in the media.
Sources:
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/07/15/2062845/0/en/Azerbaijan-Attacks-Ar
menia-Under-the-Cover-of-the-Global-Pandemic.html
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8534029/amp/Azerbaijan-thre
atens-cause-nuclear-catastrophe-attacking-power-station-Armenia.html
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2020/07/shelling-azerbaijan-arme
nia-ends-ceasefire-200716184550121.html
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagorno-Karabakh_conflict
https://www.change.org/p/donald-j-trump-stop-armenia-from-invading-azerbaijan-s-land-and-kil
ling-azerbaijani-people?recruiter=688213124&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=psf_
combo_share_initial&utm_medium=whatsapp&recruited_by_id=d2d07300-fdd0-11e6-9915-05e
5e542ff16
https://www.un.org/en/un-coronavirus-communications-team/update-secretary-general%E2%80
%99s-appeal-global-ceasefire
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https://www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN24J0SL
https://en.armradio.am/2020/07/19/recent-military-actions-a-big-miscalculation-from-azerbaijanarmenian-fm/
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/tensions-rise-along-armenian-azerbaijani-border/1914729
https://www.google.com/amp/s/news.yahoo.com/amphtml/armenians-azerbaijanis-clash-moscow
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