War In Nagorno Karabakh Can Start At Any Moment

The fighting continues. Both sides claims to have made territorial gains since Friday.


Azerbaijan and Armenia clashes continue for third day

4 April 2016


Deadly clashes between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh region have continued for a third day, despite international pressure to halt the worst fighting in decades over the disputed territory.

“In the event of continued Armenian provocations, we will launch a full-scale operation along the entire frontline, using all kinds of weapons,” Azerbaijan’s defence ministry spokesman Vagif Dargahly told journalists on Monday. He said the separatists had fired on Azeri positions and frontline villages with large-calibre mortar and grenade launchers.

The Armenian-backed separatist authorities in Karabakh – internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan – also said fighting was continuing and that Azeri troops had “intensified shelling of the Karabakh army positions on Monday morning, using 152mm mortars, rocket-propelled artillery and tanks”.

“The Karabakh conflict has serious geopolitical implications,” Sergi Kapanadze, the professor of international relations at the Tbilisi State University in Georgia, told AFP, and “threatens the stability of the strategic Caucasus region which is a transit route of Caspian oil and gas to European markets that bypasses Russia.”

Iran on Monday urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to show restraint and offered its help to halt the fighting.

Both sides claimed to have made territorial gains since the fighting flared.

The status is now a very shaky ceasefire. Karabakh demands to be included in the negotiation process talks, but the talking parties don't want to talk with them. Both sides put the enemy losses in the hundreds. Iran is making business in Baku.


Nagorno-Karabakh Truce in Trouble as Russia, Iran Join Talks

Apr 7, 2016


Azerbaijan and Armenia on Thursday accused each other of violating a two-day-old cease-fire in Nagorno-Karabakh, while Russia and Iran joined diplomatic efforts to prevent a war that could destabilize the strategic Caucasus region.

Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry has said 31 of its soldiers have been killed since Saturday; Karabakh has acknowledged the loss of 30 and said 101 others have been wounded. Each party put enemy losses in the hundreds, claims that couldn't be independently verified. Several civilians also have been killed on both sides.

But Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday after a meeting with his Armenian counterpart that "there is no alternative to the current mechanism" for negotiating an end to the dispute, which is under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

It was not clear whether that stance would marginalize Iran's role.

Adding to the uncertainty, Nagorno-Karabakh's unrecognized president said his side must be involved in any solution.

"I say once again that any initiative, so long as it is not made with the official participation of Nagorno-Karabakh, will not bring real results," Bako Saakyan said at a news conference in Stepanakert, the region's main city.

For Iran, the Baku meeting was a chance to improve its sanction-stricken economic ties with neighboring countries. During their joint news conference, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif focused on plans to boost cooperation with Azerbaijan and Russia on transport, energy and security issues.

Azerbaijan has apparently attacked villages inside Armenia, who has a mutual defense pact with Russia!


The Nagorno-Karabakh Story the US Does Not Want You to Know

April 10, 2016


Evidence that you’ll never see in Western MSM coverage is now surfacing from Armenian press documenting not only is the Azeri military still daily violating Tuesday’s ceasefire but far more significant and alarming is that the Azeris have been attacking villages inside the Republic of Armenia, not just in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave.

Azerbaijan’s artillery shelling may force Russia to shift from acting as prime mediator in the Azeri-Armenian conflict to being drawn into the escalating war against Azerbaijan. The implications of such an expanding war are so serious it could destabilize not just the immediate region but trigger a rippling effect globally. This potentially grave development of course feeds right into the sinister hegemonic plan that the neocons behind US Empire have been fiendishly hoping and working towards for some time, to tie up Russia directly involving Putin in fighting yet another war on his doorstep that could quickly unravel to ignite World War III.

Armenia says 97 have been killed on their side in recent fightings. Azerbaijan reports 35 killed on their side.


Armenia-backed forces report 97 dead in Nagorno-Karabakh fighting

Apr 14, 2016


Armenian-backed forces have lost 97 soldiers, volunteers and civilians in renewed fighting over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, including 77 killed between April 2-5, the Armenian Defence Ministry said.

Azerbaijan, whose troops clashed with the Armenian-backed Nagorno-Karabakh forces, has said it lost 31 soldiers and four civilians on April 2-5. It has not published updated figures.

Armenia may recognize Nagorno Karabakh as an independent state.


Yerevan Sends Draft Bill To Parliament On Recognizing Nagorno-Karabakh

May 05, 2016


Armenia's government has approved a bill drafted by opposition lawmakers that calls for Yerevan to recognize the independence of Azerbaijan's breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The Kremlin said on May 5 that it was monitoring the situation closely.

About 75 soldiers from both sides were killed in April, along with several civilians.

A fresh Russian-brokered cease-fire deal went into effect on April 5 but has increasingly been violated since late April.

And there are fears of a possible escalation, with Turkey strongly backing Azerbaijan and Russia obliged to protect Armenia by a mutual security pact.

Germany is greatly concerned over signs of a renewed escalation of violence in Karabakh.


Germany concerned over signs of renewed violence escalation in Karabakh

6 May 2016


Berlin is concerned over signs of a renewed escalation of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh, German Foreign Ministry Spokesman Martin Schaefer said May 6, RIA Novosti news agency reported.

Germany is greatly concerned regarding the evidence pointing to a new escalation, including a military one, between the parties to the conflict on the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh, he said. As the OSCE chairing country, Germany strongly urges both parties to take all steps to avoid a new escalation, Schaefer said.

Here's a related thread:

Israeli Harop Kamikaze Drone Deployed For First Time In Combat by Azerbaijan 04/04/2016

Karabakh accuses Azerbaijan of beheading Armenian soldiers in recent fighting.


Karabakh Accuses Azerbaijan of Beheading Artsakh Soldiers

11 hours ago


Authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh have accused Azerbaijani forces of beheading three Armenian soldiers and mutilating the dead bodies of more than a dozen others during recent heavy fighting in the area.

According to the Karabakh Defence Ministry, Azerbaijan is conducting aviation military exercises 30 km from the line of contact.


Azerbaijan Conducting Military Exercises at Karabakh Border

4 hours ago


The Defense Ministry of Nagorno-Karabakh says Azerbaijan is conducting aviation military exercises by using helicopters and jets at the south-eastern direction of the Nagorno-Karabakh-Azerbaijani contact line.

The Ministry’s announced “On July 13 starting at 08:26, the Azerbaijani side is conducting aviation military exercises at the south-eastern direction 30km deep from the line of contact. At 11:00 12 jets and 41 helicopters were included in the aviation military exercises.

An armed group has seized a police station in Yerevan and they've been holding hostages for several days. They are not happy with the results of the Four-Day War in April, demand the release of an opposition figure and call for the President to resign and hold new elections.

Two alternatives to the current status quo in Nagorno-Karabakh

Jul 22, 2016


However, on its side, Baku has the force of international law, which recognizes Karabakh as Azerbaijani territory. Theoretically, this gives Azerbaijan the right to return its territories by military force. To avoid military action, Armenia should continue with the peace talks, although the “frozen” status of Nagorno-Karabakh satisfies Yerevan.

The recent incident in Yerevan – the seizure of a police station by an armed group - is a warning sign. More than 50 people have been injured in clashes near the police station in Armenia's capital where armed men have been holding hostages for four days, with protesters having erected barricades on a nearby avenue. The group consists of a number of supporters of Jirair Sefilian, the arrested leader of the radical opposition movement New Armenia.

These radicals are unhappy with the results of the “Four-Day War,” as well as the reactions to it by CSTO partners and the OSCE Minsk Group, which consists of Russia, the U.S. and France [the Minsk Group was established in 1992 to foster the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict – Editor's note]. They advocate that the self-proclaimed NKR become a part of Armenia and hope to incite the people to revolt.

Armenian president urges gunmen to release hostages

Jul 22, 2016


About 3,000 supporters of the gunmen were gathered near the police station on Friday night. Nikol Panishian, a leading opposition politician, urged the crowd to be peaceful but persistent in its calls for Sargsyan to resign and for new elections.

The opposition figure whom the gunmen are demanding be released is Jirair Sefilian, a noted fighter in the Nagorno-Karabakh war. Tensions have been strong in Armenia over suspicions that Sargsyan is ready to make concessions to ease tensions over that disputed region, which this spring boiled over into four days of heavy fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenian forces.

Azerbaijan to stop 'illegal' flights from Nagorno-Karabakh.


Azerbaijan to stop Armenian flight ops in Nagorno Karabakh

19 hours ago


Azerbaijan's State Civil Aviation Administration (SCAA) will stop 'illegal' flights from Stepanakert/Khojaly airport, located in the contested area of Nagorno-Karabakh, reports Trend.

Since it is impossible to ensure the safety of its airspace, Azerbaijan has banned flights over the occupied territories.

The clampdown comes after Armenian adventure sports provider Yell Extreme Park launched 30 minute Stepanakert-Shushi tourist flights. According to its Facebook page, at least one flight was provided on May 28.

Azerbaijan apparently used a Spike anti-tank guided missile from Israel to destroy an Armenian Osa air defense system and its crew in Karabakh.


Azeri Missile Attack Ups Tensions in Karabakh

18 May 2017


An Azerbaijani Defense Ministry spokesman said Tuesday that its forces “destroyed on Monday an Armenian Osa air defense system and its crew in the Fisuli-Khojavend sector of Karabakh's frontline in order to avert the threat it posed to Azerbaijan's aircraft," AFP reported, as cited by Al Jazeera.

Chances of peace in Karabakh slim to none

May 18


The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry released footage that shows the destruction of the 9K33 Osa, it could be distinctly seen that the locator was working when the missile hit, which suggests the presence of the crew inside. It is also clear from the footage that it was not partially damaged, but completely destroyed. Presumably, the Azerbaijani army once again used Israel's Spike anti-tank guided missile, the effectiveness of which was demonstrated as early as the April 2016 fighting.

Karabakh Park opened in Ankara, Turkey.


Karabakh Park opens in Ankara

29 May 2017


Karabakh Park has opened in Pursaklar municipality, Ankara, Turkey.

The Azerbaijani and Turkish parliamentarians highlighted the causes and consequences of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

They also described the building of the park as a sign of the Turkish people`s support for Azerbaijan.

OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs from USA, France and Russia to visit Karabakh.


OSCE Minsk group co-chairs to visit Armenia and Karabakh

YEREVAN, May 30. /ARKA/. The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs from USA, France and Russia will visit Yerevan and Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, in the next ten days, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said at a joint news conference with visiting Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Lamberto Zannier.

"We expect the co-chairmen to arrive in ten days. They will visit Armenia and Karabakh, but I do not know whether Azerbaijan is ready to receive them as well,’ Nalbandian said.

The International Crisis Group says Armenia and Azerbaijan are now closer to war than at any point since the 1994 ceasefire! Both sides appear ready for confrontation.


Armenia, Azerbaijan closer to war over Nagorno-Karabakh than at any time since 1994 - ICG

01 jun. 2017


The former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan are closer to war over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region than at any point since a ceasefire brokered more than 20 years ago, the International Crisis Group said.

It said any descent into all-out war could draw in regional powers, which include Russia and Turkey - closely allied to Armenia and Azerbaijan respectively.

The ICG, which based its report on the findings of analysts who had talked to residents and observers on the ground, said the settlement process had stalled, making the use of force tempting, at least for tactical purposes, and both sides appeared ready for confrontation.

Government officials in Armenia and Azerbaijan had no immediate comments on the report.

Report: Armenian Military Planning To Push Deeper Into Azerbaijan

June 1, 2017


Armenia has decided that if fighting again breaks out with Azerbaijan, it will attempt to take the offensive and seize more Azerbaijani territory. That's the scoop from a new report from the International Crisis Group.

From The Bug Pit's perspective, the most intriguing news from the report is that: "[d]e facto Nagorno-Karabakh has even declared its readiness, if attacked, to advance deeper into Azerbaijan’s densely populated territory along the Line of Contact to gain a new security belt and strengthen its hand in future negotiations."

Here is the report:

Nagorno-Karabakh’s Gathering War Clouds

1 June 2017


A full-scale war is in neither Armenia’s nor Azerbaijan’s interests. Both sides possess ballistic missiles with which they could target significant civilian, economic and military infrastructure deep inside each other’s territory.

Further fuelling Armenian and Azerbaijani mistrust, a Russian official has argued that in the event of a large-scale military confrontation, Moscow may have to intervene to prevent ethnic cleansing or serious violations of humanitarian law. This, Armenian and Azerbaijani analysts fear, could be the prelude to a permanent Russian military presence in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Stepanakert does not agree with ICG's report.


Karabakh does not share preconceived views expressed in ICG’s report – official

02/06/2017


“There is always a threat of a renewed war, however the official Stepanakert does not share the preconceived forecasts that ‘Armenia and Azerbaijan are closer to war than at any point since the 1994 ceasefire’,” David Babayan, Spokesman of the President of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), noted in an interview with Panorama.am, commenting on the regular report released by the International Crisis Group (ICG).

That a war may break out is evident for everyone; simply its likelihood is low in the coming future. Making such forecasts in a report when the international community announces about the necessity of the peaceful settlement of the [Nagorno-Karabakh] conflict is simply unacceptable

“The International Crisis Group seems to have made up a reality for itself and believes in it. That report does not reflect the reality. It would be better if the report presented the objective situation. It is highly controversial,” the Karabakh official said.

I've just heard that oil transportation via the BTC pipeline is currently down! Looking for links...

Caucasian Eagle 2017

Military drill "Caucasian Eagle 2017" was launched today. Special forces from Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey will participate.


Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey launch joint military exercises

TBILISI, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey on Monday kicked off a joint military exercises code-named "Caucasian Eagle 2017" at the military base of Vaziani near Georgian capital Tbilisi.

According to the Georgian Defense Ministry, special forces from the three countries will jointly practice tactical, fire, engineering and other special tasks in the exercises. Ground and air components will both participate in the 10-day drill.

According to Azerbaijan, Armenian armed forces has broken the ceasefire 119 times in 24 hours.


Armenia breaks ceasefire with Azerbaijan 119 times in 24 hours

9 hours ago


The Azerbaijani army positions located in Mezem and Jafarli villages of Gazakh district and Kohnegishlaq village of Aghstafa district underwent fire from the Armenian army positions located in Berkaber, Paravakar villages and on nameless heights of Armenia’s Ijevan district.

Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani army positions in Kokhanebi and Munjuglu villages of Tovuz district were shelled from the Armenian army positions located in Chinari and Aygedzor villages of Armenia’s Berd district.

The Azerbaijani army positions on nameless heights of Gadabay district also underwent fire from the Armenian army positions located on nameless heights of Armenia’s Krasnoselsk district.

Moreover, the Azerbaijani army positions were shelled from the Armenian positions located near the Armenian-occupied Goyarkh, Chilaburt villages of Tartar district, Shikhlar, Sarijali, Marzili villages of Aghdam district, Kuropatkino village of Khojavand district, Qarvand, Gorgan, Ashagi Seyidahmadli, Garakhanbayli, Ashagi Veysalli villages of Fuzuli district and Nuzgar village of Jabrayil district, as well as from the positions located on nameless heights in Goranboy, Tartar, Aghdam, Khojavand, Fuzuli and Jabrayil districts of Azerbaijan.

Armenia accuses Azerbaijan of breaking the ceasefire.


Karabakh to present Azerbaijan’s ceasefire violations to OSCE envoys

9 hours ago


“Azerbaijan does its best to keep the tension on the contact line as long as possible and wreak havoc on the Armenian side,” lieutenant-general Levon Mnatsakanyan said.

“We, in turn, will do our utmost to give an adequate response.”

More on "Caucasian Eagle 2017". The scenarios also include combat in residential areas.


Georgian troops join Turkish, Azeri special forces for drills

5 Jun 2017


Launched earlier today, the third edition of the exercise involves special operations units from the three countries.

In addition, the involved units will undergo training for combat in residential areas and medical aid.

The Georgian ministry also said involved units would have to identify and neutralise "high value targets” set out within combat scenarios.

Azerbaijan's Special Forces participate in "Caucasian Eagle" exercises

5 June 2017


The army building process is of particular importance for Azerbaijan, as twenty percent of the country's territory is under Armenian occupation and the country is in a state of war with Armenia.

Another drill

Turkey and Azerbaijan launched a joint military exercise in Azerbaijan yesterday. Caucasian Eagle 2017 is still ongoing.


Azerbaijan, Turkey hold joint tactical exercises

2017-06-12


Azerbaijan and Turkey kicked off a five-day joint military exercise in Azerbaijan's western Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said Monday.

The current drill follows an ongoing 10-day trilateral military exercise launched on June 5 that involves troops of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia.

Tensions rise in Karabakh

Soldiers from both sides have been killed, and both sides blame each other...


Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry says tensions rise in Nagorno-Karabakh

June 18


"The adversary is continuing to shell from high-caliber weapons and artillery guns the positions of Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces and settlements located in the immediate battle area," the defense ministry said in the statement.

Officials in the South Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh say four of their soldiers have been killed in fighting with Azerbaijan.

Three of the men were killed Friday and a fourth Saturday morning, according to Nagorno-Karabakh's Defense Ministry.

Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said one of its soldiers was killed Friday.

Both sides blamed each other for the violence.

4 soldiers killed in Nagorno-Karabakh fighting

June 18, 2017


Azerbaijani troops had shelled Karabakh army positions using anti-tank grenade launchers, said a Karabakh defense ministry statement.

Large-Scale Military Exercises

Large-scale military drills in Azerbaijan starts today.


Large-Scale Military Drills Start in Azerbaijan on Monday

19.06.2017


Large-scale military exercises kick off in Azerbaijan on Monday, with 23,000 military personnel involved.

The exercises also involve up to 120 tanks and armored vehicles, 180 rocket and artillery systems of different calibers, 30 combat aircraft, multiple launch rocket systems and mortars, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles.

The drills are set to continue until June 24.